


The Fatalist

by Sonic_the_Spunk



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Bonding (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Dynamics (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Fluff (Naruto), Drama, F/M, Haruno Sakura Has Issues, Haruno Sakura-centric, POV Haruno Sakura, POV Uchiha Sasuke, Protective Uchiha Sasuke, Romance, Sakura - Freeform, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:02:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 86,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24218566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonic_the_Spunk/pseuds/Sonic_the_Spunk
Summary: Akatsuki gets their hands on a prized Konoha shinobi, thinking their new brainwashing jutsu will send the Jinchuriki straight into their arms. But when you pit someone's head against their heart, things get more complicated. Especially when Team 7 is involved. Set before Pein's invasion. [AT][AU]
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 30
Kudos: 112
Collections: Good Sasuke/Naruto fics, Naruto - Remorseful Sasuke, SASUSAKU, Sakura, naruto





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: Danger ahead. If you can't handle being immersed in a plot with some twists, violence, and drama, turn back now! This will be a bumpy ride for everyone—NO ONE is leaving unscathed (and that includes me, the author).
> 
> Yes, there will be romance.
> 
> Guys I am SO excited for this fanfic. Hope you are too. Don't forget to R&R so I know if anybody's reading!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

The air was damp and cold. Water droplets trickled faintly from the depths of the cave. This is where five shadows stilled like predators in the dark.

"Itachi…"

Crimson eyes shot open, illuminating the air around them.

"Your delay speaks loudly about your diligence in capturing the Jinchuriki. As the final piece, you will not fail this next time, especially if you value your life," a voice boomed. The heavy atmosphere became malignant, certainly capable of suffocating those faint of heart.

The crimson eyes closed in resignation to the leader's threat.

The others said nothing.

"What developments do you report of your new Kokoro Sabanto no Jutsu?"

"Ready at will," the shadow responded impassively. "It is optimized for our target. Princess Tsunade will believe her allegiance lies with Akatsuki. Konoha will fall."

"Go, then. Seize the nine-tails with Princess Tsunade under your jutsu. See to it that you succeed."

The last words were quiet and menacing.

"Agreed. Signing out now."

All five shadows disappeared.

* * *

In the distance, younger crimson eyes stared pensively.

Unlike the shadow, these eyes were filled with emotion. Hate, frustration, doubt, and ambition pooled in complex intensity. The owner held his hands together in front of his face, brooding silently.

Just as he thought they might finally succeed, they failed again.

Itachi got away.

And there was still _that_ issue.

"Sasuke," a voice interrupted, sick with sweetness. "What are we going to do now?"

…

…

…

"We're going to Konoha."

Because that was the safest place to raise an Uchiha child.

His child.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	2. A Simple Favor

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

Sakura threw a dirty medic apron on the floor of her bedroom and scrambled to put her shoes on. After a quick look in the hallway mirror, she dashed out the front door.

Five minutes. That's all she needed.

When she was already sprinting down the street, she skidded to a stop as she suddenly remembered that she'd forgotten to do something.

_Shit! I'm so late!_

She ran back to her house and frantically unlocked the front door, only to throw herself in front of the hallway again. Her eyes fell to a different target this time—a photograph on the wall.

Sakura calmed her heart just enough to allow herself a moment of ceremonious respect.

In the photo, a younger version of herself held a black graduation scroll secured by a red bow. To her right was a man with one hand placed on her shoulder. To her left, a woman with a hand on Sakura's opposite shoulder. The three of them stood under a tree cheesing for a family portrait.

_Thank you for watching over me, mom and dad._

* * *

Today—of all days!

She'd openly criticized Kakashi's tardiness for years, and yet here she was, the epitome of hypocrisy.

Sakura was meeting her—technically Shikamaru's—Genin team. He was pulled away for some top-secret mission, sans kids, as he often was, leaving her to try her hand at babysitting. A simple favor for an old friend since everyone else was busy apparently.

But she'd certainly make it worth her while.

Sakura could recall countless torturous "team-building exercises" that she, Naruto, and Sasuke had to endure for the benefit of Kakashi. At the time, the man's laundry, lawn work, office administration, and other chores were well-disguised as a form of "team-building", supposedly critical to the path of shinobi nobility.

It's not like she knew any better back then.

But now she had an opportunity to pay it forward. _And it would be fun,_ she thought while smiling to herself wickedly.

Her running footsteps thumped against the hollow wooden roofs of various buildings to the training field. Idle chatter filled the familiar streets below—among them, Mr. and Mrs. Futsu bickered as they swept the dust away from their impressive display of lucky trinkets, and the cranky fruit-stand man, who always grumbled and shouted expletives at passing kids, took his daily stroll.

The troubles were small these days, and for that, Sakura could appreciate them.

The clearing was close now. She'd be there in just under two minutes.

Sakura looked above her, to where the skies kept themselves clear and the early autumn air bright and warm. It was her favorite time of year, with the summer heat waves gone. Tough start and tardiness aside, it was going to be a good day.

But as she neared the grass—where she expected to find three children eagerly awaiting her arrival—she found only a single buzzing fly and a couple squirrels.

The field was empty?

She leaped down and walked to the center of the wet area, sighing where she stood.

No. Not empty.

…

_Whoosh._

From the trees, a kunai flew at the back of her head. She lifted her hand and caught it just behind her ear.

"Take this!"

A boy exploded from the bushes, screaming at the top of his lungs. He attempted to kick Sakura in the face, she supposed, but he wasn't quick enough—she fisted the back of his white T-shirt and lifted him off the ground.

He kicked and punched the air, yelling childish profanities. "Lemme go I swear I'll—"

Sakura peered at him with narrowed eyes.

As he returned her gaze, his body betrayed him, and his adrenaline started to wear off sooner than he hoped. His arms and legs dangled in the air in defeat, like a puppet at the mercy of its master.

"I told you you'd look stupid," another boy muttered as he emerged from the bushes. "She didn't even have to _look_ to catch your kunai."

"Shut-up _Tone_ ," said the boy at Sakura's mercy. He folded his arms across his chest, feet still dangling in the air.

"I've already told you." A third one, a girl, also emerged from the bushes, looking at Sakura practically with stars in her eyes. "A kunoichi like Sakura-sensei would never be caught off guard by a Genin like you."

Sakura dropped the first boy on his rear. He sat with his chin up in the air without apology.

"You must be Oishi," Sakura said. He reminded her of Naruto at that age, except he was a bit smaller. She heard Shikamaru talk about the kid before—he was a cute one. She resisted an urge to smile, which she knew would only embarrass him in front of his teammates.

"Wow, for an apprentice to Godaime-sama, _you're_ bright!"

And just like that, not cute. This was probably what it felt like to be a victim to Naruto's petulance. How that blonde-haired idiot was never murdered by shishou, Sakura didn't know.

"OW! Mirai-chan, that hurts! Stop it—" Oishi waved his hands in the air, swatting away the girl's attempts to slap sense into him.

"Idiots…" The third teammate, Tone, stared ahead, disengaged. He clearly didn't want to be lumped in with the other two. "Such idiots."

Sakura closed her eyes as the chaos ensued. Shikamaru hadn't given her a heads up about their… enthusiasm. He was probably laughing now, congratulating himself for essentially winning himself a vacation at her expense.

She would make him pay up later.

When she took on this Genin team, she wanted to show Konoha that she was just as skilled in leadership as she was famed within the village for combat and medic skills. It was her way of proving her dedication and undying loyalty, to show her village that there was no task beneath her—not even babysitting. Failure on this mission would not be a good look.

She had to do something.

Luckily, she had an idea.

She collected a good amount of chakra into her body—just enough to give a good scare—and then sent a chilling wave of battle intent to the kids.

Then she tugged both sides of her mouth until she managed to emulate an artificial smile, showing no wrinkles by her eyes like she would with a genuine one. She held her mouth in that position, as if nailing the corners of her lips in place.

She didn't need a mirror to know that it looked just as creepy as she intended. She had enough experience with Sai to know that it was.

They noticed.

Tone's eyes snapped to focus.

Mirai turned her head.

Oishi lost color in his face. "H-hey… " he stammered. "What is she—"

At full speed, Sakura appeared behind the punk, closely crouching over his shoulder so that he could feel her breath on his temple. She knew the poor babies weren't able to follow her movements at that speed. Good.

"Dearest Oishi-kun…," she said, giving her voice the same sadistic tone that Anko gave to Naruto when they first met. "I wonder how it felt to be held in the air and tossed onto the grass like a sack of rice. Your teammates seem to know something about me that you don't." That was why they were so scared, she insinuated. "Shall we ponder what 'something' could be?"

Beads of sweat collected on Oishi's head. He gulped. Like a scared little rabbit, he dared not move.

Both of his teammates glued their eyes ahead. They'd probably never been that thankful to be anybody but him at the moment.

As the final act, Sakura rested a knee on the ground, positioning herself behind Oishi where he'd definitely be able to feel, but not see, her. She placed a single finger in between his two feet, pointed into the earth. "This is what a broken ankle sounds like through a stethoscope."

He croaked, nervously. "What are you—"

With one flick of her finger, thunder wreaked havoc underneath them. The ground shook and trembled as it split in half, not unlike if an earthquake had erupted where they stood.

Sakura stepped back, and all three of the Genin lost their grounding. They fell to the floor in awe.

"That. Was. So. Cool," Mirai said, looking at Sakura breathlessly.

Tone nodded. "Sensei, please teach me!"

Sakura, now confident that Oishi had a comprehensive understanding of what exactly it meant to be an apprentice to one of the legendary Sannin, waited satisfactorily as he straightened himself out internally.

With that, her job was done. They'd be obedient pups and it would be smooth sailing from here.

All they needed was a little push.

_Cha!_

* * *

"This part of town sure brings back memories", Hidan said casually. "Didn't Kakazu and I fight some pricks close by?"

Itachi saw Kisame roll his eyes.

As a lover of gore and a religious freak, Hidan's version of "a fight" was equivalent to a sadistic ritual involving unnecessary suffering for all involved. Worse, he was a braggart who couldn't admit to his own mistakes.

One time in Fire country, Hidan was outsmarted by Leaf-nin and got trapped under a heap of boulders. Akatsuki had gone out searching for him when he never came back. They found him days later, malnourished and almost dead. The way he spun the story was comical.

"Figures I'd be back," Hidan pressed on, much to Itachi's annoyance. "Took me and Kakazu what, about three minutes for the two-tails? What's it been for you, Itachi? Almost a whole fuckin' decade for the nine-tails?"

Convenient. Of course Hidan would exclude the incident in Fire country where Hidan had to be rescued. From his own stupidity.

While Leader instructed Itachi to include the cultist in his attack on Konoha, their relationship was a professional one only. It didn't matter if they were the only members of Akatsuki left. He and Kisame didn't have to respond to the taunting.

But the silence probably only annoyed Hidan. "Bunch o' bitches," he muttered.

It looked like Kisame wouldn't be able to hold back with a snide remark of his own. Itachi thought it better to preserve the peace. "Once we reach Konoha, our target is Princess Tsunade," he said, reminding his colleagues of their plan. "I'm to cast Kokoro Sabanto when we meet face to face. Her allegiance to Akatsuki will be certain, and there will be no need for further bloodshed. She will send us the Jinchuriki on her own volition."

Hidan smirked.

Itachi knew it was because the plan meant that Hidan would get his blood fix.

Unlike Hidan, Itachi was a pacifist. He liked to be strategic and avoid unnecessary pain. Developing the long-staying manipulation jutsu was a good move. But then Leader requested Itachi tailor it, which had taken years. Now, the stronger the chakra control abilities of the target, the more potent the jutsu—and the more effort required to deploy it.

This meant that the pool of really good targets was reduced to virtually one. And she happened to be the most guarded in Konoha. Approaching her head-on would undoubtedly send many of her shinobi to their deaths.

The plan was utterly terrible. There would indeed be a bloodbath. But because Leader was adamant, Itachi had no choice other than to move forward with incredible tactlessness. It would take a walking miracle to pivot to an easier target. Still, if there was an opportunity, he would take it.

* * *

Sakura's team mission was simple enough.

She heard that the kids complained about only receiving D-rank missions. The most recent one left Tone in Konoha's allergy department—something involving a cat.

This one was C-rank. All they had to do was investigate civilian unrest on the outskirts of Konoha. With almost no chance of real shinobi combat, yet a chance to visit an unfamiliar town, Shikamaru's Genin would get exposure to the outside world from a safe vantage point. It'd be good for them.

They would be at their destination soon. It was only a few miles from Konoha, and Sakura could still see the bright red and orange tiles of the Hokage tower from where they stood in the trees.

She occasionally stole some glances to the kids behind her. The three stuck together, falling in line so they wouldn't leave anyone behind.

She began to feel nostalgic about Team 7. It didn't happen as often as it used to, but still she could never shake thoughts about her old teammate. He was still with her, always.

Was he still alive? Did he ever find what he was looking for?

And she couldn't help but compare Team 7 to the next generation following behind her. Mirai came from a respected family of shinobi, but she didn't look down on her teammates whose families were civilians. Her lineage gave her an edge in wisdom, as expected. The boys looked up to her, in stark contrast to how ignored Sakura felt as a Genin. They were clearly more functional.

Wait—what was that?

Sakura stopped in her tracks. She masked her chakra and held up a closed fist.

The Genin followed on high alert.

The air seemed heavy, and it was getting heavier every second, with a thick coat of killing intent suspended around them. There were three incredibly dark chakra signatures heading into their area.

And then Sakura saw them. Three Akatsuki. She knew them all.

Sakura turned to her students.

_We haven't been spotted. There's still a chance for them—_

"This is bad," she said, desperate. "I need you all to mask your chakra and listen carefully."

They picked up on her urgency and did what they were told.

"This mission has become dangerous. If you don't do exactly as I say, we will die. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Mirai—has your mother ever told you about Akatsuki?"

The boys looked at each other in confusion when their teammate nodded.

"Take the boys and run as fast as you can to our front gates. Have Izumo and Kotetsu warn Hokage-sama that Itachi, Kisame, and Hidan of Akatsuki are on their way to the village. We need to assemble a team and prevent their entry."

"But sensei, what about you?" Tone asked. He must've been really scared, because Sakura could detect the heavy pounding of his heart.

"Konoha has been looking for Akatsuki for a long time. We can't lose them. I'll try to stay hidden and then hold them off until help arrives."

Mirai's eyes hardened in understanding. Sakura probably didn't have to explain what would happen if she was found with no other Jonin to back her up.

The boys' eyes darted between her and Mirai, as if they were trying to read what was being left unsaid.

Sakura tried to give a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. I swore on my life to protect Konoha, and that includes you three."

Under a different Jonin, probably a no-name Jonin with something to prove, the Genin might've been pulled to their imminent deaths. Then Akatsuki would've moved into Konoha without warning, and people would die.

After years of being the generation that needed protection, it was now Sakura's turn to protect.

"I won't let them win. Go."

She had to do this. They must be kept safe.

"Now!"

Oishi cast one last glance at her and then moved to follow his teammates. The best thing they could do for her was hurry.

* * *

This time, Mirai didn't slow down when her teammates started to get tired.

They struggled to keep up. And they'd never seen her this upset before.

"Hey," Oishi whispered to Tone. "What's with her?"

Mirai overheard. Without losing momentum, she turned to look at them.

They realized she was crying. "One of those men killed my father."

* * *

Kisame noticed first. He grinned, petting Samehada as if calming a riled-up dog. "Looks like we have a pretty meal hiding in the trees," he said to his colleagues.

"I'll rock-paper-scissors you for it," Hidan countered while licking his lips.

"Leave it," Itachi intervened. "Whoever it is, it's not mission-critical."

Sakura cursed from her hiding spot in the trees. She didn't expect that sword to give away her position so quickly.

Hidan stared at the back of Itachi's head, grinning."If I don't… you gonna kill me?"

He got no response from Itachi. Nor Kisame.

Sakura gripped a kunai in her hand, tightly. She was hesitant, biting her lower lip as she ran countless possibilities through her head.

Should she attack first?

She could hold Akatsuki off for ten, fifteen minutes maybe. She needed to give the backup team at least twenty minutes to get to her location. If she fought alone now, she'd be dead for sure.

No.

It wouldn't be now.

She just had to wait a little longer—

A decision was made without her. A red triple-bladed scythe whirled in her direction, narrowly missing her cheek.

She jumped from her place in the trees to the dirt road in front of her enemies, sizing them up.

"You wasn't playin' about pretty," Hidan said.

Her mouth began to dry. Even if she'd managed to kill one many years ago, it was unheard of to face three S-class criminals at once and live to tell the tale. Especially not these three.

Kisame was the largest, and with his scaly blue skin and beady eyes, his cloaked body cast an intimidating shadow over the road. The best strategy for dealing with him was probably to stop the flow of chakra in certain parts of her body upon contact with the sword. It was only a guess, but it would have to do for now.

She certainly had to be careful not to look at Itachi too closely. Naruto told her about how he was pulled into a genjutsu simply by watching the man point a finger. She kept her eyes unfocused over Itachi's form, trying not to linger on any one particular area. She settled on the highest part of his jet black hair which was being pulled along with the wind.

She was most uncertain about Hidan. He looked human enough, and probably could actually be quite good looking if he tried to be charming, but she'd heard enough about his so-called immortality to know that he was a monster. She didn't like the way he was looking at her, with his dilated pupils eagerly scanning her body like she was a piece of meat.

In any case, it would be smart to procrastinate as much as possible.

"What business does Akatsuki have here?" It was a stupid question, she knew.

Hidan was the first to speak. "To see you, of course!" he exclaimed, chuckling with his head tossed back.

So the man had jokes.

"Lord Jiashin! Look at her—my beautiful kill!"

Nevermind. There it was—confirmation that he was absolutely crazy.

Kisame leaned over and whispered something to Itachi.

Sakura concentrated her hearing so that she could eavesdrop.

"Itachi," he said. "Isn't that the Jinchuriki's teammate? They're close."

x

Itachi knew Sakura, alright.

His kid-brother regularly complained about all the academy girls who giggled at his back and followed him everywhere. The kunoichi's lineage wasn't spectacular, and it was rumored that her Genin parents passed away from illness. The last time Itachi saw her, she was just a teenage Chunin on her way to rescue the Kazekage.

"The one who killed Sasori," he said in agreement. He didn't get a chance to see her in combat that day, but she would have only gotten stronger since then. She was not to be taken lightly.

Before Itachi could relay the intel, Hidan swung his weapon again and aimed for Sakura.

Idiot.

The scythe pierced the ground and a cloud of dust floated into the air above it, obscuring the view of Hidan's target like smoke.

…

…

It was a slow reveal, but eventually everyone was able to see that Sakura's body was not underneath the weapon—much to Hidan's disappointment.

Sakura reappeared. It was missed by all except Itachi, who followed her movements curiously.

Hidan was caught off guard. "What the—"

Sakura's foot made contact with his back.

Itachi could see that his teammate's rib cage had been absolutely crushed, looking like it almost split in half from the impact. The cultist was thrown into the closest tree, breaking and splintering the wood upon landing.

The kunoichi then looked to Itachi and Kisame, her eyes betraying her anticipation as she tried to prepare herself for an attack from either of them.

Itachi honestly couldn't be bothered—like he said earlier, this wasn't mission-critical. "Get up Hidan," he called out, bored.

Silence infiltrated their face-off.

One minute passed.

Hidan instead opted to lay in front of the tree motionless.

It was all a part of his well-rehearsed, melodramatic theater that always prefaced the big reveal of his immortality. But it was only "a big reveal" if the character in question wasn't already in everyone's bingo books, which Sakura most definitely had at least one of.

It was like knowing the secret behind the magician's trick yet being forcibly subjected to watching it over and over again. Just embarrassing.

Itachi wondered if Hidan thought of that. Probably not.

x

To Sakura's shock, Hidan opened his eyes. A strand fell from his neatly slicked back hair, covering his eye as he yelled out unruly. "This fucking hurts!"

 _Crap,_ she thought to herself.

She read about his "other" state in Konoha's archives. Immortality was granted to him if he sacrificed others above a religious symbol marked in blood, but as far as she could see, he was in his human state. He wasn't supposed to be able to recover so quickly.

She felt her stomach leap as she watched Hidan clutch his chest and sit up from where he was sitting, haggardly leaning against the broken tree. He looked at her hatefully, chest heaving as he wheezed.

"And you're a fucking bitch! I'm gonna torture you…"

Hidan had to pause and take a slow breath.

"…rape your dead corpse..."

Another laborious breath.

"…and then kill your _whole_ fuckin' family!"

"Hidan, you're the only one who cares about such a small meal when we have an entire village waiting," called Kisame from a few yards away.

Sakura looked to the other two Akatsuki, who hadn't moved to help their teammate at all. In fact, they didn't even look like they would make the first move until she attacked them. It was odd but she wasn't about to complain.

She appeared beside Hidan.

She knocked him backwards beside the tree and pinned his head to one side with chakra-infused footing on his cheek. She threw two kunai to pin each of his hands to the ground beside his body.

Underneath her foot, with a squashed cheek, he was yelling unintelligibly, clearly upset at the unexpected turn of events.

Sakura tuned him out. Out of morbid scientific curiosity, she took her hand and hovered over his chest, using her chakra to form a scalpel at the tip of her index finger. She cut his cloak and shirt like she'd done thousands of times in the field when she needed to heal someone. Except this time, she didn't stop at the clothes.

She dug the scalpel into his bare skin.

And began to dissect him alive.

His screaming intensified as she pulled back a flap of damaged skin and muscle, exposing his inner organs. She peaked into his lung in the area in front of where she kicked him.

As expected, his ribcage was broken in multiple places, with bone shards piercing his lung.

With two fingers, Sakura pulled on one of the fragments lodged into it. The fragment lifted from his lung with stringy bloody mucous attached, and she observed his organ tissue as it began to magically rearrange itself to its proper form. She made a mental note to add this to Konoha's archives, if she ever made it back.

x

Itachi had seen a lot in his life, so he was surprised when he had a reaction at all. He was equal parts impressed and entertained that Hidan had been caught off guard. Despite the ugly sight of his colleague being dissected alive, he couldn't find the willpower to pry his eyes away.

Kisame muttered beside him. "Princess Tsunade created a monster."

That comment gave Itachi an idea.

Sakura's likeness to the Godaime couldn't be denied. The scene presented an interesting twist of events. A new opportunity, perhaps?

Evidently, the kunoichi before them exhibited the precise chakra control abilities that his jutsu was made for.

It could work.

"There's been a change of plans. We're taking her with us," he told Kisame. Come to think of it, Sakura was in a position of immense influence as the common denominator between the Jinchuriki and the Godaime herself. And here she was, alone, in front of them.

 _No—it would be even better,_ he thought to himself.

Kisame raised his eyebrows at Itachi's rare act of spontaneity, but didn't reject the idea. "Well there's no point in arguing with a genius," he shrugged.

Together, they turned to regard Sakura with new intentions. She happened to notice them and jumped backwards to her original position, putting distance between her and Akatsuki once again.

Kisame walked over to where Hidan lay and hoisted his body over his shoulder.

"About time, ya fucking prick," Hidan complained.

"You acted recklessly and got what you deserved," said Kisame nonchalantly.

Itachi faced Sakura. She was looking at his feet, avoiding his eyes, trying to predict his next move.

Naive girl. Avoiding his gaze wasn't going to help her this time. He wasn't trying to cast just any genjutsu—at least none that she would be able to feel.

He stared at her with bright Sharingan eyes, as if in a meditative trance, waiting for the right moment to strike.

He saw her furrow her eyebrows in confusion. He could see her gathering chakra into her fist, prepared to retaliate against any surprise attacks. Unfortunately for her, that was the wrong move.

There it is—

_Kokoro Sabanto no Jutsu._

Like magic, Sakura dropped to the floor.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	3. Severed Bonds

"Send me if we're short. Just me. Whatever the _hell_ we have to do, we need her back home!"

Naruto faced her from the other side of her desk, his whisker-like shadows dark and pronounced—the way Tsunade learned they usually got when he was dangerously close to losing himself to the innate hatred inside of him.

At any time now, one of the assistants would burst in, scolding Naruto's audacity to scream at the Hokage.

Tsunade knew better.

He wasn't screaming.

He was begging.

They were notified by Shikamaru's Genin of Akatsuki's arrival. But by the time they found Sakura's last known location, the trail went cold.

Sai then sent scout mice.

There was not one single trace of evidence. All they found at the scene told them Sakura fought back and little else.

Equally upsetting to Tsunade was the vulnerability of their current situation. Shikamaru's mission had stretched her thin, and sending out a bunch of Jonin in pursuit of Sakura, leaving Konoha vulnerable to attack, or sending Naruto out alone could've been what Akatsuki hoped she'd do all along. She couldn't figure out what motive they had for taking Sakura otherwise.

"We're going to get Sakura back. But it's not the best play _right now_ ," Tsunade said through gritted teeth.

Sai stood by the door in silence. His heart ached for his family, but he said nothing.

* * *

Naruto sat with his elbows on the kitchen table and his hands covering his face.

It wasn't real. She wasn't gone.

Wasn't it just last night when he took Sakura to dinner at their favorite spot? Not Ichiraku. The spot that made her favorite version of BBQ pork over rice—the same dinnertime bento special that she, without fail, got every single time.

He ordered ramen, of course, even though the place didn't specialize in making noodles. It was okay. He didn't go to that place for the ramen. He went there because of Sakura.

He picked out the ground soybeans from the soup out of habit and made an offhanded remark that the bits reminded him of the little bug-eyed monstrosities that Granny Toad forced him to eat whenever he visited the mountain. Then, he managed to make the ugliest face imaginable, imitating what the sage toad would say if she saw him picking out the most nutritious part of her dish.

Sakura almost choked on her food.

He was just making a fool of himself.

Still worth it in the end, because he got to see her smile, and then they burst into fits of laughter.

Sakura's laugh was like a bell and it could light up any room.

It filled all of his heart.

If Naruto had a family, it would feel like Sakura.

It wasn't until he opened his eyes to a black apartment when he realized that the sun had set. The dark corners of his home had completely engulfed him, swallowing him whole.

He looked at the clock. 21:34.

Hours had passed. Four, to be exact.

He didn't get up to turn on the lights. What was the point?

An abrupt knock at the door jolted him out of his head. "Naruto! Open the door!"

He frowned, debating if he should ignore the intruder. He didn't feel like talking to anyone. Not while he was stuck in Konoha, while Sakura was probably—

It was better to not finish that thought.

"Open up!"

It was a man's voice, muffled by the door.

Naruto slumped against the ridges on the back of his wooden chair.

He just wanted to be alone. Maybe if he acted like he wasn't home, the man would just go away.

…

…

Knocking turned to pounding.

Naruto sighed. Sluggishly, he peeled himself up and made way to open the door for Jiraiya.

The hermit took one look at him and whistled.

"Hey, old man," Naruto said, motioning for him to come inside.

"Damn, kid. That bad, huh?"

He only ever promoted "pervy-sage" to anything else when it was.

"I brought you something." Jiraiya held out a plastic bag from the 24-hour convenience shop around the corner, and pulled out an orange icy pop—the type made for two people.

The corners of Naruto's lips tugged at him. It was his favorite flavor.

Jiraiya followed him to the couch, unwrapping it as they sat down.

Naruto grabbed the other half, and like always, on the count of three, they snapped it in two. "Thanks," he said.

They sat next to each other eating in comforting silence, listening to rain.

* * *

_They dashed through the slippery trees on the border of River Country, their heads and shirts drenched in sweat and cold rain as they raced away from their pursuers. Hunter-nins, from the looks of it._

_Sasuke and Karin had been running at full speed for almost an hour._

_"Karin—what the fuck?!" Sasuke yelled. His voice was barely audible over millions of heavy droplets falling from the sky all around them. "I thought you were taking care of that!"_

_They were being chased down by a squad of hunter nins who probably recognized them from a few towns back. And for some reason his red-headed teammate, who was supposed to be a chakra-hound, was completely caught off guard._

_Sasuke was sure he could take them. But Karin insisted that he didn't. And now he knew why._

_"I was taking care of it," Karin snapped back, eyes glued ahead of them. "I took care of it every fucking time you got off. If you didn't want to knock me up, at the very least you could've—"_

_A shuriken flashed in her peripheral vision and she expertly brought a kunai to block its trajectory into the back of her skull. It fell through the branches and faded behind them._

_"How long—"_

_A tree branch almost smacked him in the face. Sasuke's chakra flared with frustration._

_"—before you were going to tell me?"_

_Karin flinched. "I— I… wasn't going to, okay? I was going to take care of it. I just—"_

_"You just what Karin?"_

_"I didn't—I just… I thought—"_

_She couldn't stop stammering. Her hands were trembling, but she didn't know if it was from the cold or from fear._

_"I couldn't do it," she whispered quietly. "I started to want it. For us."_

X

Listening to the rain reminded Sasuke about that night from one and a half weeks ago. The night he found out about his unborn child.

The night when everything changed.

At first, he needed a solid 48 hours completely to himself to contemplate if he was better off asking Karin to get rid of it. He wasn't ready to father a child. Not with her.

He spent 47 of those 48 hours devising his new plan, because deep down, he knew he had to do the right thing.

After killing Orochimaru, he thought killing Itachi would be a natural next step. He never would have fathomed that he'd return to Konoha before then. It angered him that he would.

But the village was the home of his clan.

He looked beside him, at how she nuzzled her head comfortably against him, at the rise and fall of her chest. He couldn't remember the exact moment it happened—when she went from a plain nuisance to someone he spent his nights with.

Karin bothered the shit out of him. She still kind of did.

When they were teenagers, she basically followed him around until he finally acknowledged her, and even if the majority of that began reluctantly, she somehow was able to get him to lower his guard.

Sasuke was always honest about his feelings—that he didn't have any. Not for her.

She understood. She continued to come onto him anyway. It was a nice arrangement between two consenting adults until one of them got careless and pregnant and attached.

He should have known better. It wasn't Karin's fault. It was his.

And the more important question—where would returning to the village put him, in terms of his ambitions?

Konoha might decide to keep the baby; kill him.

_Fucking hell._

That's where.

* * *

At their hideout, Itachi watched Sakura as she slept.

He sat forward on his chair with his elbows on his knees, his breathing labored and forehead sweaty.

They were in Furuhoro, in one of their temporary hideouts tucked away on the edge of Fire Country. Akatsuki repossessed a small abandoned farmhouse here and it was safe as long as they didn't stay for too long.

Itachi's legs ached. His arms were sore. His back hurt.

But it was still only the beginning of a long process and he couldn't allow himself to rest just yet.

Activating the jutsu in itself was unexpectedly taxing. Even so, he set a second short term genjutsu on the road so that any tails would run themselves in circles. It was the only way he could ensure they wouldn't be followed to this hideout.

Then, Kisame carried Hidan, and Itachi had to sling Sakura over his shoulder all the way back to their hideout.

Itachi was grateful for the last minute opportunity. It would've been an entirely different ending if he tried to take down Princess Tsunade. Still, it was best to keep their little deviation from plan under wraps and on a need-to-know basis. Leader didn't have to know that they took Sakura instead of the Princess as long as the end result was the same.

From here, there were only two required elements for the new plan to succeed.

He'd first sever Sakura's existing emotional attachments. This part was completed the second she fell into the jutsu and onto the ground. She'd keep most of her memories, but when awakened, she'd feel no kinship with Konoha. She'd feel no love for her teammates. And she'd have no hatred for Akatsuki. This was important for the next part.

His jutsu was an illusionary technique mixed with Sasori's Senno Sosa no Jutsu. The difference from his late colleague's technique was that his own jutsu would make Sakura believe that she was a sleeper agent placed in Konoha, even if she wasn't actually one. She'd believe that she was recently awakened by Itachi because it was the right moment. But that wasn't all.

He'd even give her a backstory for how she came to be part of Akatsuki.

How about a tragic story of her parents' demise at the hands of careless Konoha elders? He could craft the memory that her Genin parents were sent ill-prepared on a mission kept secret from the Hokage. In a cover-up, their deaths would be unjustly marked as "lost in unnamed battle". When Sakura woke up, she would remember that she sought Akatsuki of her own volition, volunteering herself to spy on her village with the help of Sasori's memory-concealing jutsu.

And that closed the loop—how she was awakened by Itachi during their run-in.

What a scandal.

All it would take was a couple weeks of "memory restoration" sessions. Then, with Sakura's _training_ completed, Akatsuki could send her to Konoha as their agent.

And bring them the Jinchuriki's head on a stick.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	4. The Strangers You Know

"Hold still," Sakura murmured. Her steady hands rested on either side of Itachi's head, soothing the discomfort in his eyes with her healing chakra.

Over the last eighteen days, Itachi completed all phases of his jutsu. Sakura would remain under his spell for a long time; all the false memories and emotional detachments would last until he either deactivated the jutsu or died in battle.

But keeping the jutsu active required an enormous amount of energy. He would be in a weakened state until they successfully retrieved the Jinchuriki. When asked about his labored movements, Itachi explained that it was because of his overuse of Sharingan.

The little kunoichi couldn't help but put her expertise to use whenever she could. And he'd come to relish the added benefit of having a medic on his team.

"We're leaving!" he heard Kisame call from down the hall.

Itachi, on his back, felt Sakura pull away. Without a word, she grabbed her cloak to follow after Kisame's voice.

As far as any passer-by could see, she was among colleagues. It was paramount to make sure nothing would interfere with the warped reality in her mind. That meant keeping her by his side, as close as possible.

And that also meant keeping up appearances.

* * *

The smell of seafood and toasted sesame hovered in the air, and hundreds of unsuspecting civilian tourists talked excitedly on the nearby outer streets. The clinking and clanking sounds of workers did well to hide their conversation from any possible eavesdroppers.

They were discussing their next move over dinner at a hole-in-the wall place in Fire country, owned by one of Akatsuki's beneficiaries.

Itachi watched Sakura sip on her unsweetened hot tea. "I'm grateful to be back," she said. Her tone was perfectly cool and detached—just the way he made her to be. It was the first time they ventured into public and he wondered—how would his little pet, the fruits of his labor, behave in public?

Kisame nodded as he made eye contact with Sakura. "Our chance encounter with you was lucky," he replied.

Itachi sent his partner a private look that said, _shut it_. It was an unanticipated development of events to have captured Sakura instead of Princess Tsunade, and nothing short of a miracle. It was inappropriate to make ironic jokes about it.

Kisame continued chewing his food with a sly, jagged-toothed grin at the double meaning behind what he said.

x

"Whatever." Hidan chugged the rest of his tea and slammed the empty cup on the table, sourly. He didn't give a rat's ass about chance encounters, just like how nobody in this neck of the woods gave a rat's ass about Jashinism. His unmet needs for a human sacrifice left him enthusiastic about little—even the steaming stack of spare ribs on his plate, which was usually his favorite.

"So what do we do? We can't go back without the Jinchuriki. Leader has already set the date four and a half months from now," said Fishface, putting a piece of charbroiled ayu in his mouth.

Hidan resisted an urge to gag. Fish eating fish—cannibalism was where he drew the line.

"Let's talk about the plan," Itachi agreed. "Sakura. What is your idea?"

Bastard acted as if he hadn't already subliminally implanted one into her mind. Prick.

"The nine-tails Jinchuriki is the bottleneck. We have no choice but to use our trump card," she said, referring to herself.

Genius was patient enough to explain the plan to Hidan, in terms he'd understand, unlike what Kakuzu would've done—that dead stinkhead. Their trump card represented the ultimate betrayal; using the Jinchuriki's friendship with this pink hellcat to eventually bait him to an open area and take him.

"But is this the right time?" Itachi asked.

"We can't forget what's at stake here. I burn my bridges when I take the Jinchuriki, but the outcome is all that matters. And the sooner, the better," she said. By now, the hellcat switched from her green tea to the dish in front of her. Hidan watched as she chewed in thought, unaware that her freedom of choice was only an illusion.

So far so good.

"You would not be able to regain your cover," Itachi challenged.

"They'd be foolish until the very end anyway," she said, shaking her head. "Konoha ninjas are naïve and stupid. They won't appreciate the gift of Akatsuki until they know true pain."

Hidan thought about all the times Leader had said the same thing—that Akatsuki was the savior of the world, who could bring peace to shinobi who desperately needed it.

Secondary in importance to Lord Jashin, of course.

"We are the only ones who can do this," Sakura said. "It won't be until all hidden villages are destroyed, and the world is in darkness, when they'll understand the gift of Akatsuki. They must learn pain so that they will cherish a world without it."

Well Hidan be damned.

Looked like Genius was adept in the art of manipulation. To really lock-in their success, they needed to make sure their new teammate truly believed in their cause, so they all had to hear it straight from her mouth.

Hidan just didn't know how far Itachi went.

He looked over at said mastermind, who had a blank expression on his face. The prick scrambled her brain _good_. The shit she was saying was damned sexy too. If Hidan knew that she'd suddenly become much more interesting, he wouldn't have wasted all those precious days ignoring her until now.

No longer did she cling to the helpless dream of protecting her village and all the people in it. She was so desperate to keep her precious little Genin runts safe. Now, she was willing to betray her village and sacrifice her so-called 'teammate' for the greater cause? She was an entirely different person.

"It's been almost three weeks since I've returned to Akatsuki," the hellcat continued, pulling a hidden fish bone from her mouth. "It would be realistic for me to go back now and feign an escape."

With this plan, Akatsuki could stay posted at a nearby hideout and wait.

Itachi really _had_ thought of everything.

* * *

After they returned from lunch, the four of them quietly retreated into their individual rooms in the farmhouse.

Sakura had nothing to do until she headed out the next morning. It wasn't like hostages could pack things. All she had on her body when she was taken would be brought back to Konoha with her—the shuriken and kunai in her pouch, soldier pills, medic scrolls, energy bars, and some cash.

Scratch that. She'd leave the consumables. It was more realistic of her to have eaten them by now.

She plopped onto her back on the old mattress with her head dangling off the edge. She couldn't recall ever being friends with her comrades, but recently she noticed they always stuck to themselves. Nobody ever talked to each other unless it was absolutely necessary.

Had it always been this boring in Akatsuki?

Just then—an abrupt and forceful knock at her door.

"Ay Sakura, we're going to spar outside."

It was Hidan.

With nothing better to do, she leaped off the bed and went to the backyard, which was a spacious lot of bare dirt. Beyond the scantily fenced-in area, their house was surrounded by a field of tall grass on all sides.

She looked around for her comrades. Mainly Itachi, who she felt she'd gotten closer to recently.

Who was "we"?

All she saw was Hidan standing shirtless in the dirt. Sakura rolled her eyes at his blatant lack of modesty.

"We can't have you looking that good when you go back." Hidan licked his lips with a grin oozing of self-importance and devoured her with his overactive eyes. She forced a shudder from surfacing on her body—something like that would only encourage him more.

She wasn't given a chance to respond. She was up in the air before her mind could register what was happening, dodging his favorite weapon that he hadn't even warned her he'd use.

Rude!

The late sun reflected off the shiny metal as he snaked it around once again, forcing her off the ground as soon as she landed.

He wouldn't get her a third time.

She prepared chakra in her fist and drove it into the earth, thousands of rocks and debris from the broken ground sky-rocketed into the air. She took advantage of Hidan's temporary preoccupation to land a few punches.

As the rocks and debris fell into disarray, so did Hidan's body.

"It would've hurt a lot more if I had used chakra," she said flatly.

Instead of the reaction she expected, Hidan sat up and grinned wildly.

"—but this is going to hurt you like a bitch."

His entire body went black. He picked himself off the ground in his transformed state, hovering over a sacrificial symbol that she hadn't seen him draw.

_When did he—_

She clenched her teeth together to suppress a scream. Pain stabbed through her right arm.

Her mind raced with confusion. Hadn't she dodged his blade?

"Cut it out, Hidan," she said. She brought a hand to her injury—

"Tsk, tsk, I wouldn't do that," warned Hidan, as he held a kunai up to his face tauntingly.

She looked at him in disbelief. In his transformed state, she'd feel _everything_.

"I'm your teammate," she spat. "You can't—"

Hidan's pupils dilated as he lodged the kunai into his arm, in the same spot that matched Sakura's painful wound.

"Stop it!" she shouted. "What the fuck, Hidan!"

Unwilling to let herself be tortured, she ran to where he stood and tackled his body with one hand in an attempt to have him step outside of his symbol.

She almost succeeded.

He was stronger than her right now. She was soon flipped onto her back, pinned underneath the weight of Hidan's body.

"I've been meaning to pay you back," he said.

She tried to inch herself outside of the symbol, sliding against the ground like a worm, ignoring the burning sensation of the gravel scraping against the skin of her back. "What are you talking abou—"

He plunged his kunai into his own shoulder and she screamed out again, writhing underneath him. She could smell the iron in her blood pooling beneath her, wetting her back with warm stickiness.

Hidan threw his head to the sky with his eyes rolled to the back of his head as if he was getting off on her pain. The whole thing was disgustingly fetishized and not at all what she'd signed up for—this went far beyond a friendly sparring session between two teammates. She wanted to spit in his face, wished to knock him so hard in the head that he'd need six months in bed.

Sakura tried to use her feet to kick him, but the angle made it impossible. He was sitting on her stomach and her bleeding arms were useless at her sides.

"This is what I've fuckin' needed," breathed Hidan, eyes glazed over like he was in a trance. He then lowered his upper body until he was practically laying on top of her, with his face close to hers. He steadied himself with a forearm on the ground above her shoulder, his hand loosely clutching the kunai drenched in his blood.

She felt its moist edge dirtying her hair.

With his other hand, he grabbed her face and forced her to look at him.

She glared with her cheeks squished between his fingers.

His hair, usually slicked back neatly, hung loosely above her nose. She could feel his hot breath on her—metallic and stale smelling, like he hadn't eaten in more than a few hours. This time she couldn't hold back a shudder when she realized that Hidan was only a shell of someone who was mentally gone a long time ago.

She writhed underneath him some more, in a last-ditch effort to prevent whatever was coming next. The situation was dangerous, she knew, but if he meant to kill her, he would've done so already. So what gave?

Suddenly, his hand around her tightened.

Sakura watched in horror as his face began its descent.

"No— Wait—"

And Hidan violently crashed his lips into hers.

Her stomach churned. She didn't—couldn't—breathe. She was going to be sick. She tried to yell, but it was a wasted effort as she learned the sound of a strangled cry, her voice a muffled, helpless, mess. She squeezed her eyes shut to block the image of him out of her head.

She couldn't.

His tongue invaded her mouth, forcing her eyes to open in revulsion and shock.

"…Hidan, have you finished yet?"

_Itachi?_

Hidan froze above her. With a hand still on her face, he glowered in the direction of their intruders.

Kisame stood in the doorway with Samesada leaning against its frame, and Itachi stood behind him.

She'd been rescued.

"Shitheads," muttered Hidan as he pushed himself up and swiveled his legs off to the side. "I guess I have to be."

A liberating breeze replaced the weight of his body, and Sakura found the courage to breathe again.

Without looking back at her, Hidan made his way towards their other two teammates by the door, reverting back into his mortal form. He maintained cold eye contact with Kisame, aggressively bumping the sharks' shoulder on the way inside.

Her nausea faded as the cultist left her view and she began to collect herself. She tried not to shrink under Itachi's gaze but it was getting more difficult to hide the stinging tears in her eyes.

She was glad that they came when they did. She didn't want to find out how far Hidan would have gone otherwise.

It was commonplace in the shinobi world, she tried to tell herself. A kunoichi's sexuality was first and foremost a tool, to be used and abused to make ends meet. It was all the more reason for Akatsuki to succeed, to put an end to the unjust system and eradicate the world of any pain and suffering.

"Sakura."

At the sound of his voice, she automatically searched Itachi's face for a sign of comfort—

And then shoved that reflex back to where it came from.

Yes, they'd recently spent a lot of time together, but that didn't mean he cared for her well-being. They were professionals and had a job to do. They weren't friends.

"Yes?" She asked.

But what if a small part of Itachi really cared? What if he realized the value of their healing sessions and—

"You're leaving tonight," he stated.

Her stomach dropped at the flat tone in his voice. He had no concern. No worry.

Sakura nodded her understanding. She walked up to the door and politely slid by Kisame with her eyes focused on the floor.

"Oh and Sakura…"

She looked up to Itachi once more, searching for a reaction in his eyes.

Anything.

If not for her, he was at the very least supposed to be a team leader. He couldn't just let that slide, could he?

"Yes?" she asked, hopeful again.

She was met with cold and inexpressive eyes.

"Don't heal yourself."

* * *

They were running through Fire Country and close to Konoha when she sensed them.

"Sasuke," Karin hissed, "I can't fight."

Fuck.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes, willing himself to keep his patience and think. He could still feel her looking at him, with the reflection from her fogged up glasses glued to the side of his head like usual.

She didn't want to risk losing the child, and that's why she couldn't fight. But that only made it harder for Sasuke—to fight, keep a low profile, _and_ defend somebody all at the same time.

"Trouble in paradise?" One of their pursuers jumped ahead of them, blocking their path forward.

Sasuke saw that they weren't up against Leaf, which was good. Killing the shinobi of the village he wanted to enter would not be a great start.

The vertical scar running down the man's cheek moved with his lips when he shot them a nasty yellow-toothed grin, calculating how much he could get for their heads. Hunter-nin.

Actually, Sasuke'd seen this guy before. He thought they'd lost the group from a couple weeks back, but someone must've seen them in the last town. Word got around fast. And that meant more were coming.

The hunter-nin addressed Karin. "Maybe I'll get rid of you first."

She laid a hand over her stomach and backed away. Sasuke instinctively stepped in front of her, shielding her from the vile stare.

"You're trespassing," Sasuke warned. The group pursuing them didn't have the right to hunt in Fire Country. It was illegal.

The hunter-nin grinned. "So are you."

It seemed he would not take no for an answer.

Sasuke turned to Karin and he nodded his head towards one of the trees in his peripheral vision. "Wait for me there. Watch your back."

"As if I'd let you—"

"Your opponent is me," Sasuke said to the man with one hand on his sword. "Karin. Go."

It started to rain.

Sasuke unsheathed Kusanagi and bolted forward.

X

Karin closed her eyes to sense chakra movements much faster than she would have been able to follow with just her eyes. Her wet hair clung to her skin as cold droplets rolled off tree leaves and branches, onto her head and shoulders.

She got a feel for two more hunter-nin approaching quickly, and her eyes snapped open to warn Sasuke. "Above you!"

Sasuke was already on top of it.

Now four against one, he held his own as Karin nervously watched from the sidelines with a kunai held defensively across her chest. Her antsy fingers glided along the ridges of the loop on the end of her weapon, fidgeting as she closed her eyes again to follow their movements nervously.

Her chakra control was off balance.

One consequence of not knowing her lineage was that she couldn't just visit her grandparents and ask why the unborn child was affecting her body this way. She couldn't trust herself in battle and it was like her body had completely dedicated itself to nurturing the life growing inside of her.

She eventually became more comfortable with it, and Sasuke never noticed. It was fine, or so she thought—she didn't think she'd be forced to tell him in such an inconvenient way, and it hadn't really impeded on their movements until now.

Someone appeared in front of her.

It wasn't Sasuke.

The hunter-nin's massive form shocked her into consciousness, making apparent that her own instincts had no doubt betrayed her, maybe even fatally this time. She had nothing up her sleeve—no tricks or substitution jutsu that she could do that would go unnoticed by him.

He wielded a strangely-shaped dagger with a thick metal base that tapered off at the top. It was probably custom-made. And laced with poison.

One cut and she'd be done for.

She met his dagger with her own kunai, cursing that she was less quick as she would've liked. She wasn't the combat type to begin with, but this was just pathetic. She jumped in the air to get enough momentum to knock him onto the floor from above, but instead he blocked her attack, caught her leg, pulled her entire body with it, and slammed her against the tree.

Hard wood knocked the wind out of her. Pain ripped through her body.

She couldn't hold back a loud yelp.

"Karin!"

Sasuke reappeared in front of her, securing her between him and the tree behind them.

"I'm— I'm fine, Sasuke…" she said weakly.

X

They were surrounded.

In any regular battle, Sasuke could have easily taken them. But Karin wasn't able, and he didn't want to use any jutsu or techniques that would put his name on the board. Even if he upped his chakra, someone with good tracking might be able to identify him with just the lingering remnants of battle.

Sasuke's best bet would be to get Karin even more distance, so that he could go on the offensive.

The four hunter-nin closed in with a semicircle formation, backing them up against the massive tree. They all wore the same grins on their faces, which suggested they thought they had the upper hand.

Screw it. Sasuke didn't have the patience to deal with this shit. The rain would help wash some of the evidence away anyway.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Fire and chakra-infused shuriken flew from where Sasuke stood, and the hunter-nin leaped backwards to dodge the wide-range attack.

Without giving any of them a chance to recover, the sound of a thousand birds cried into the air as Sasuke activated chidori and infused it with his sword. With speed to match lightning, he sent the largest of the hunter-nin spinning.

A body thudded to the floor. By the time the three hunter-nin registered what happened, one of their teammates was dead.

"Sasuke…" said Karin from behind him. "I don't feel so good."

He looked at her. She couldn't move, and it looked like she was getting weaker by the second. He would have to end this quickly.

Sasuke went after the next closest hunter-nin, but his sword was only met with a replacement log. This one was quicker than his teammate, it seemed.

But not quick enough.

He followed the hunter-nin with ease, having the unfair advantage of his eyes. Their enemy was able to counter a couple of the sword's attacks, but on the third impact, Sasuke activated his lightning element again. The hunter-nin's dagger broke and Sasuke's chidori had impaled him.

That left two.

He heard Karin scream.

Sasuke transported himself to her side, but this time he was too late to dodge what was coming.

Sasuke was met face to face with another hunter-nin as he shielded Karin and bore the brunt of the attack on his right flank. Their enemy managed to tear through his white shirt, slicing him clean. Sasuke tensed as he used both arms to enforce his defense, the only thing preventing the hunter-nin from slicing him in half.

He had no time to think as the last remaining hunter-nin lunged at Karin.

No—he couldn't let it happen.

_Damn it—_

"Jagei Jubaku!"

_—make it in time!_

Two great white snakes shot out of Sasuke's sleeves, one instantly coiling around the hunter-nin in front of Sasuke. The other slithered away.

"Save Karin," he commanded.

X

She closed her eyes. A wet dagger make contact with her skin. It was so close that she could smell the poison laced on the edge—synthetic purple dye that burned in her nostrils.

At any second she expected to meet her death.

She held her breath.

...

Nothing came except the sound of a gasp from the enemy in front of her. "What the fuck—"

"It's over for you two."

_Sasuke?_

Karin opened her eyes to see both the hunter-nin suspended in the air and their movements restricted. They kicked and clawed violently at the snakes, their long bodies fully coiled around the enemies' arms, legs, and necks.

It went on for about fifteen more seconds.

They kicked more forcefully, thrashing in resistance to the snake's tightening holds. Their faces became red as their resilience began to wane.

In their last moments of life, their hands weakly tried to pull free. They wheezed from the lack of oxygen.

And then their mouths fell agape as their heads hung over their lifeless bodies.

The snakes eagerly loosened their coil around the corpses, grinning as they stretched their jaws wide to take in their freshly caught prey. Their slimy juices could be heard melting the hunter-nins' clothing first, as their muscles contracted and convulsed to slide the bodies headfirst through the jaws and into their stomachs.

The stench of burnt human flesh lingered even after the snakes disappeared back into Sasuke's sleeves.

He bent down next to Karin, and lifted her arm over his shoulder. She saw him flinch.

"Sasuke, you're hurt. Let me—"

"Can you walk?" he interrupted.

As soon as she stood, Karin's legs lost their grounding and Sasuke had to brace himself against the tree to avoid being pulled down with her. She very clearly couldn't.

They were in such a sorry state.

"You shouldn't have used that jutsu," she said weakly.

She knew the real Sasuke, but that didn't mean others could see past their own misunderstanding of him. With every conflict, every fight, especially when he used those snakes, he strengthened his association with Orochimaru and his reputation sank even further.

"It's fine," he said. "Let's get you some help."

He swooped one arm beneath the bend in her knees and brought her body up to his chest with both arms. Her head rested sideways on the crevice of his arm.

She looked up at him with her last breath and muttered, "this is too pathetic…" before she lost consciousness.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	5. A Way Back

_"Let's see… first off, I'll have you guys introduce yourselves."_

_"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?"_

_"Your likes, dislikes, your future dream, hobbies, things like that," Kakashi said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Why don't we start with you first."_

_"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen, but what I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku! What I dislike is the three minutes you have to wait for the noodles after you pour hot water. My hobby is eating and comparing ramen. And my future dream is to surpass the Hokage!"_

_"My, my, you've grown in an interesting way. Okay. Next!"_

_"I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like… I mean, who I like is… and my hobby is… my future dream is…" the girl couldn't complete a thought without breaking into a fit of squeals._

_"Okay… I guess. And lastly?"_

_"My name is... Uchiha Sasuke. I have lots of dislikes, but no likes in particular. And… I don't feel like summing up my ambition as just a dream, but I do have two ambitions; the ambition to restore my clan and without fail… to kill a certain man."_

* * *

Sasuke carried Karin for a few miles until he found one of the monk monasteries in Fire country. He trudged up the steps to their massive door, footsteps slow and heavy, panting from the exhaustion and wound in his side.

His clothes were soaked through and so were Karin's, adding an extra ten pounds of water weight that felt like one hundred. He shivered in misery, struggling to keep his eyes open.

He didn't get a chance to speak with anyone before he felt himself passing out.

X

Sasuke had no idea if it was the next day or the next week.

He just knew that he was still somehow alive. If this had been the Fire Temple, he would have been captured before he could mutter the words of his surrender. This meant he'd found one of the other monasteries, run by the passives with no interest in hidden village politics.

Calming chants echoed from the far end of the chamber where the monks practiced their meditation, adding an ethereal holiness to this mysterious place.

It was so warm and comfortable.

His eyes only wanted to open halfway, with no strength for full consciousness. His body lay there unmoving, unresponsive to his commands.

_Maybe just a little more rest._

X

_Karin._

Sasuke jolted awake.

He found himself on a floor mat in the corner of a common area with a very high ceiling, the sun beaming brightly on him through the open doors.

There was a wrinkled bed sheet at his feet. He automatically reached to the side of his stomach where he remembered his wound, but found nothing. His usual attire had been replaced with a loose robe. He was well-rested. And he wasn't in pain—except that his arms and neck and shoulders were stiff as hell.

So they'd taken care of him. What about Karin?

One of the monks approached. He was small and bony, with some type of symbol running from his forehead to the back of his bald head. His maroon robe was draped over his shoulder like a giant sheet, leaving one arm bare.

The monk started to make hand gestures. Sasuke quickly learned that he was at a silent monastery.

He didn't know how, but he was able to pick up bits and pieces of the gestures and sew together the story. They'd given him whatever was left of their medicine, which they happened to possess because the monastery sometimes received gifts from grateful travelers. But the monk also warned that they weren't advanced enough to treat shinobi injuries and regretfully informed Sasuke that his entire right side—the injured side—had blockages in qi.

Based on the fact that he couldn't feel or channel any chakra on his right side, Sasuke understood. He was still too weak to move at his fullest and he'd need to avoid battle until somebody could take a look, likely a shinobi medic.

He heard the soft clicking of sandals again. It was a second monk, even smaller and older than the first, bringing Sasuke some water and a bowl of porridge.

He took the items and bowed his head in respect and gratitude. When he spoke, his tone was soft, despite how impatient he was. "The woman—is she okay?"

They gave him a mixed expression of sympathy and apology. The prickle of worry began to build in Sasuke's body.

Wasn't he more injured than she was? And if she was, why hadn't she healed herself? He couldn't remember a time when she wasn't able to.

Finally, they nodded yes. She was.

The monks gestured to the corridors and looked back at Sasuke.

_Ah._

Women's quarters were most likely off limits to men, so they were apologizing because he wouldn't be able to see her right away.

Sasuke relaxed. He looked down at the bowl in his lap, and then to the fireplace where he heard the monks praying for the past few days.

Now that his immediate worries were assured, Sasuke had time to actually think about what he and Karin were going to do next. The closer they got to Konoha, the antsier he became. There were too many unknowns and they still had yet to discuss logistics.

Getting through the front gates would be a challenge in itself. Then they'd have to deal with the Hokage's monstrous strength and bad temper. Karin was an outsider, and Konoha was generally distrustful towards them—especially those affiliated with Orochimaru. Lastly, Sasuke didn't know if Naruto could ever forgive him for what happened the last time they ran into each other.

"So you _finally_ decided to wake up," a voice said in a harsh whisper. "I was getting bored."

Sasuke looked behind him. Lo and behold—Karin. Clearly, she was fine.

"We'll leave today," he said.

Sasuke got up and began to roll up his mat. It hurt to move, but he managed to withstand enough of the pain to tidy up his sleeping area out of respect for the monks. He was just about to reach for his cleaned clothes hanging on a clothesline when—

"I'm not going with you."

He stopped. He had to tilt his head so that his ear was closer to her, because he wasn't sure if he heard correctly.

"I can't go to Konoha with you, Sasuke. Not anymore."

So he had heard correctly. But he still didn't understand.

"I can never be who you want me to be. I—"

"Karin." Sasuke held up his hand, cutting her off. "Shut up." He didn't need to hear any more because he already knew what she was going to say. She was having one of her insecure moments and he didn't have time for it. "You're the only reason why we're going to Konoha. Go get your things."

He expected to hear her footsteps trail off to the corridors where she start packing, but he heard nothing.

The redhead stayed put. "Sasuke. I'm not going."

Now she was getting on his nerves.

Now, when they were almost at their destination, _of course_ she would become difficult and throw her version of a fit. But he wasn't going to deal with it.

"And where would you go," he said with the intonation more a statement than a question. "Is there somewhere else you need to be?"

Irritated at his condescending tone, her tone shifted. "The hell you care. It was a mistake for me to hope that things would change. I see that now."

_Here we go again._

"I've told you before Karin. I can't give you what you want."

"And I'm not asking you to," she snapped.

Her voice sent an unintended echo and she nervously looked around, realizing that a group of monks had glanced in their direction and could probably hear their private discussion.

Speaking more quietly, she continued, "You want me to stick around. But stay distant. To devote my life to your goals. But keep my heart out of it." Her left hand and right hand animated the contradictions side by side.

"It's easy for you to say," she said. "You're not attached—"

"I'm _attached_ ," Sasuke said, loudly and flatly emphasizing the word. "You made sure of that," he added as he eyed her stomach.

Karin put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight. "You know what I mean."

Sasuke decided that this would be the end of the conversation. It had already dragged on for too long, pointlessly.

"We'll talk about it on the way. Konoha is the safest place for you. They'll accept you quickly, as the mother to an Uchiha," he said, turning around to face her.

Karin's eyes softened and she had to look away. Her shoulders slumped and she grabbed her elbows with opposite hands, as if a weakness had suddenly overcame her. She dropped her head and her lips began to tremble. "Sasuke…"

Had what he said been that upsetting?

She was barely audible, his name escaping her lips in a mere whisper. As she took a breath to steady herself, he leaned in to hear what she had to say.

"I lost the baby."

Sasuke paused.

She looked much more frail than he remembered her to be, looking at him through watery eyes.

"It was during the fight. When I woke up, the monks showed me..."

Sasuke made the connection to the apologetic look on the monks' faces earlier—they knew. They were sorry because they knew he'd lost his child. He felt a pang of guilt and regret and sadness growing in his own body, and moved forward to envelop Karin in his arms.

She buried her head into his shoulder. "I'm sorry Sasuke I—"

"Don't. "

She shouldn't blame herself. He reflected about how hard it must've been for her, to be constantly rejected by him. He always assumed her feelings would fade away and she'd inevitably lose the interest to stay. But she stuck by his side, always.

He could feel her eyes wetting his shirt and the jagged movement of her back between breaths. The gloom in him grew exponentially as his feelings finally started to catch up to him, as he began to fully comprehend what he'd lost.

"I'm going," she said, gently lifting herself from his chest. She took off her glasses and wiped away the fog with the edge of her shirt. When she looked at him, her tears had been replaced with a look of determination. She then smiled sadly, and brought a hand up to stroke his face. "I need to do this. For me."

He realized that she was talking about leaving _him_. That she wasn't asking for permission. That she didn't need his approval. That he had no say in the matter.

"Karin—I…"

His first instinct was to tell her to stay, because she didn't have anywhere else to go. Despite whatever she thought, Karin was not a dispensable tool to him. He valued her.

But wasn't he the one who just said he couldn't give her what she wanted?

Asking her to stay was selfish. It was only fair for her to get a chance to find happiness, because up until now, she'd sacrificed everything for _him._ For _his_ happiness.

Karin took another step towards him, this time lifting her chin so that her face became close to his.

He didn't move, knowing that this was probably the last time they'd cross paths in a while.

She planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I will love you, always."

* * *

Sasuke laid on his back staring at the ceiling, thinking about the events in his life that brought him to this point.

Did he still need to go to Konoha?

He thought no. So he trekked in the opposite direction, towards River Country, where he and Karin had originally come from.

And that's when his feelings hit him like a truck.

He spent the first night shit-faced drunk.

He spent the next night drunker than that.

Then he snapped out of his uncharacteristic self-pitying mode—he didn't even _like_ alcohol—and admitted that Karin was never the root of why he decided to go back to Konoha in the first place.

That brought him to the third night, when he reversed all of his actions from the first two nights, and found himself in Fire country all over again.

He was just procrastinating. Why?

Because for the first time in his life, Sasuke was nervous.

Once upon a time, he naïvely believed that in order to be strong, he had to sever ties with anyone he cared about. And that was okay with him at the time, because killing Itachi was his only goal.

No one understood. Anytime he tried to explain himself to Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto, they'd hear "Orochimaru" and shut him down completely. But as long as he could be strong, it didn't matter.

But then it did.

Like _that_ time—when he killed his best friend.

It was years ago when he and Karin ran into Naruto.

They were talking. Not in the way that friends or enemies did, but shinobi to shinobi. About philosophy. While almost all their encounters after he left Konoha had been... less than cordial at best—his own fault—they'd long outgrown the urge to fight on first instinct.

But it was different that time. Sasuke finally got through to Naruto, who accepted the possibility that it really was Sasuke's destiny to fulfill what he'd promised to do ever since they were twelve. Admittedly, Naruto was also able to get Sasuke to see things differently too, and they briefly entertained the idea of a future in Konoha if Sasuke ever returned.

But Akatsuki interrupted the encounter. His older brother appeared for the first time in years. In a moment of blind rage, Sasuke took things too far. He actually killed Naruto.

Or so he thought. It wasn't until later when Sasuke learned that his friend had survived.

He hadn't seen Naruto since.

In the daytime, Sasuke could find distractions in the sounds and motions of everything around him. He could forget his mistakes and live in the present moment.

But the quiet always came. And Sasuke would do exactly this—think about his old friends and imagine a different life where he was forgiven. It was too late in this life, he knew. His friends had stopped chasing him. No longer did he have to swat their offers of friendships away—they no longer offered them.

He did his best to rebuild another team like Team 7. Team Hebi came close. They all came to respect each other, and at times they even risked their lives to protect each other. Sasuke thought they were the real deal. But even after all their talk about valuing friendships and commitments, when he thought he could actually trust them, Suigetsu and Jugo fell back into their old habits.

One night, in the Land of Iron, they tried to kill Sasuke in his sleep.

They weren't successful, but Sasuke later found out that a bounty hunter had offered them a hefty sum of quick cash in return for his head. It was a great disappointment to learn that his loyalty and friendship had a price.

He had no choice but to abandon them. They never contacted him again.

A far cry from his teammates from Team 7. Sasuke never met anyone who measured up to his original teammates, except maybe Karin, but now she'd moved on, understandably.

She was just a band-aid.

For all his younger years touting how he needed to be alone to get his revenge, Sasuke eventually learned that being alone was worse than dying. Severing ties made him weak in the uphill battle against a world-class secret organization like Akatsuki.

And he realized that if he wanted a way back, he would have to try.

Going home would be now or never.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	6. A Shooting Star

Tsunade burst through the doors. She was in her nightgown, her usual pigtails replaced by loose blonde strands crashing into her mid-back like violent waves.

Two masked ANBU, dressed in their full attire, followed neatly behind her with rigid formality.

"Where is she?!"

The hospital receptionist jumped and frantically collected scattered paperwork onto a clipboard for the fierce-looking woman.

"H-Hokage-sama! Room f-five three."

Before the girl could finish, Tsunade grabbed the clipboard from her timid hands and stormed into the hallway. She was too ticked off to be polite.

It was nearly 3:00 AM.

Why had it taken so long for someone to call her?!

ANBU appeared at her window just ten minutes earlier. Infuriatingly, they only knew that her apprentice was home and at the hospital. They couldn't say if she was okay.

Tsunade didn't even give herself a moment to put on something decent before she sprinted out the door.

Her eyes glossed over the papers in her shaky hands. She clutched the edges of the clipboard and tried to calm herself so she could actually read something on Sakura's charts.

When it wasn't the vitals of someone she knew personally, it was easy to read these. But right now the charts and numbers were just arbitrary shapes of ink on paper, doing nothing to settle her nerves.

No one could tell her anything. It was so god damn inadequate.

She hunted for signs of life.

Pulse.

_77._

Blood pressure.

_108/75._

Temperature.

_37 °C._

This was taking too long.

"Hokage-sama. This is the room."

Finally.

She whipped around to see Kakashi standing next to her two ANBU outside of room five-three, waiting expectantly.

Tsunade shoved the clipboard onto the miniature table by the door and opened the curtain.

* * *

After Sakura arrived in Konoha last night, she was immediately ushered to the hospital where she could be treated for her "battle wounds".

At first, ANBU wanted to take her to the debriefing center, which could've been problematic. She wasn't sure she'd be able to hide all that was in her mind without some preparation. But without prompting, the Princess barked orders at the ANBU and she got what she wanted—a personal and private debrief, quite informal.

The Copy Ninja was there too.

Sakura relayed a fascinating story of her return to Konoha—mostly fabricated, less the part where Hidan attacked her. She exaggerated some bits. Added some tears. Pointed out her injuries. Included a good explanation for why she hadn't healed herself.

It was all well-rehearsed.

The Princess then asked a few follow-up questions about Akatsuki's whereabouts or if Sakura was able to glean anything about their plans or why they took her in the first place.

Sakura's expression threatened more tears and the Princess backed off. Easy.

Everyone was too elated with her return to press any further, and all that was requested from her was a simple written report when available. Sakura decided to take the next couple days to think about what type of story she could spin in the report.

Afterwards, the Princess and Copy Ninja left the room to talk outside of earshot. She remembered hearing their whispers as she drifted off to sleep.

That brought Sakura to today, when she woke up in her own apartment. How exactly that happened was a mystery, but it wasn't like she minded parting with a hospital cot. She bundled up some fluffy comforter under her chin and shifted to her side, her feet feeling the softness of the plush fabric of her own bed as she sighed in contentment.

_Knock_

_Knock_

_Knock_

"Sakura, are you there?!"

She opened one eye.

How annoying.

She'd had a long night. And she wasn't in the mood to talk to Konoha losers.

Deciding to ignore whoever it was, she closed her eye and went back to sleep.

…

…

"Sakura, I'm coming in!"

Her eyes shot open at the announcement of intrusion. She realized who it was.

_The vessel._

From her bedroom, she could hear him fiddle with different keys as the front doorknob jangled. She tossed her blanket off and threw on the nearest piece of cover—a medical robe laying on the floor—and draped it across her shoulders just as the lock on her door clicked.

"Jinchu—Naruto," Sakura said, correcting herself before it was too late. Adrenaline pumped through her veins now. She couldn't fuck this up. 

He froze by her door with one hand on the knob. As if the sound of her voice was impossible.

"Sakura, I can't believe it…"

His voice was shaky at first, but then his face broke out in a huge grin as he shoved his key chain back in his pockets and closed the door behind him.

She held her breath as he approached. She knew that he'd have a million questions.

He stood taller than her, and so he lifted her off the ground with her arms trapped at her sides in a one-sided bear hug. It wasn't pleasant, but she didn't say anything in fear that he would drag out the moment longer than it needed to be.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the vessel released his death grasp.

Her feet touched the ground and she took a deep breath to refill her starved lungs. She'd have to remember not to elicit one of those again.

A serious look overcame his cheerfulness from just a minute ago. Firmly, he put both hands on her shoulders and shook her a little, as if to make sure that she was real and planted on the ground in front of him.

"I missed you."

She then noticed his furrowed blonde eyebrows and the bags under his eyes. Like he hadn't slept.

"I'm not letting anything happen to you ever again. Believe it."

His words carried finality. Hearing a promise born of such conviction made her almost want to believe it too, if she didn't know any better.

Sakura stared back, not sure what to say. She knew he was compassionate, but this emotional display was just making her feel awkward.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it. I won't pry. But if you ever need me, I'll listen."

Wait. It was as easy as that? They were all going to take her at face value? For someone with secrets to hide, this was undeniably the best case scenario. She couldn't have been more pleased.

But then she remembered that she was expected to actually converse, and she had to come up with some kind of a response.

 _Quick. Say something nice_ , she told herself. Like... it was great to see him?

No. Too forced.

Sakura blinked slowly, at a loss.

Every time she looked at him, fantastical images of Akatsuki's success took over her mental capacity, and she couldn't unsee what it would be like the moment he was emptied of the Kyuubi that they so badly needed. He was the final, final piece, and it was hard not to feel rushed to take him right now—she was so close, with her dreams just around the corner. All she needed to do was—

"Let me take you out to lunch," he said with renewed cheerfulness.

 _Gross, no thanks,_ she thought. She couldn't help it; it was just reflex. But it wouldn't go down well if she said that, so Sakura had to come up with something else. "It's 3:00 in the afternoon," she responded coolly.

_Good. Keep it factual. Scientific._

"Yeah, and knowing you, you're probably starving."

Right on cue, as if he'd summoned it himself, the room was filled with an angry grumbling courtesy of her empty stomach. She brought her arms in front of it to smother the sound but it was in vain.

The vessel beamed. "You always get hungry around this time when you skip breakfast."

Uncertain of exactly how he knew that information, Sakura could do nothing but follow along. "I'll be right back," she said over her shoulder as she headed to her room to change.

That was… also factual.

 _Good,_ she said to herself, figuratively patting herself on the back for surviving her first conversation.

While the vessel stood outside waiting for her, she collected her last bit of thoughts. She'd hoped for ample alone time to conjure a more detailed version of her plan in Konoha, but lunch couldn't hurt. And it was mission-critical for her to be close with the vessel anyway.

She couldn't avoid him. Not if she wanted to succeed.

As long as they kept it to just lunch.

* * *

As Sakura and the Jinchuriki made their way through the grass and into the trees of the nearby park, she became suspicious.

"Where are we going?" she asked. "The restaurants are that way."

"Why? Are you getting hangry?"

Sakura instantly blushed. "No—I just… nevermind," she muttered. She wasn't expecting that retort. She didn't like the way he dodged her question, either.

Seriously though. Where were they going?

Unless Konoha had restructured its neighborhoods while she was away, there were virtually zero storefronts or restaurants in the area they were heading into. It was just a park, some sidewalks, and then houses further down the way.

And, most importantly, she signed up for food. Not a stroll in the park.

In fact, they were so far away from their destination that she saw nothing except trees for miles ahead, everywhere. So many trees. And picnic tables.

Picnic tables?

_Wait… was that—_

She did a double take. Then squinted her eyes because she didn't know if they were deceiving her.

_Oh god._

It was really happening. And she wasn't prepared for it. No way in _hell_ could she pull this off.

…

There were too many of them. Swarming. Like mosquitoes.

...

Too. Many. People.

...

**"Surprise!"**

A roaring crowd jumped in the air and ran towards her.

The Jinchuriki looked back at her with a hand on his head, sheepishly. "I figured it would be easier for you to see everyone at once…"

She was being ambushed.

"Sakura!"

It was the blonde chick. _We're best friends,_ Sakura reminded herself.

Another soul-crushing bear hug.

"We couldn't wait to see you!"

Ino wiped away tears of joy as a few more familiar faces came to welcome Sakura home. Among them were a mixture of civilians and shinobi—the mom and pop merchants who were once good friends of her parents; the old woman who lived next door; all her colleagues. Copy Ninja, Princess Tsunade, and of course, the Jinchuriki were among them.

They organized this for her?

"Sakura-sensei! You're back!"

She was forced backwards from a sudden impact. A particularly round object thudded against her rib cage.

She looked down.

Three little kids had attached themselves to her, hugging her waist with ferocity. It was the Genin brats.

"Okay guys, let's give her some room."

A beautiful woman with long and black curly hair approached the group, with airy lavender makeup accentuating striking red eyes. Sakura recognized her to be the best genjutsu user in Konoha.

"Mirai, let Sakura-sensei talk to the adults."

"Yes, oka-san." The kids detached themselves from Sakura's body and obediently ran off to get snacks, throwing a glance backwards as if to see that she was really there, just as the last time they left her.

Sakura watched them with distaste. They were so ignorant and blissfully unaware. The stupid brats had no idea how good they had it.

"Sakura," her colleagues' former sensei said, claiming her attention once again. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. I know that you didn't have to. You did it for me and I'm glad you did."

She knew what the woman was referring to. When she was taken by Akatsuki, she protected the Genin from confrontation. Thinking back on her decision, now with a _clear_ mind after being awakened by Itachi, she realized that sparing their lives was insignificant. It really could have gone either way and it wouldn't have made a difference to her.

"Of course Kurenai," said Sakura as she bowed her head in respect.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the Copy Ninja approach.

It was overwhelming. Each and every one of the incoming interactions was more like a bomb than the heart-warming chatter they probably intended. The whole point of her leaving the apartment was to get fed, and then maybe get close to the Jinchuriki. That was all. That was _supposed_ to be all.

"Whoa there, Sakura," said the Copy Ninja. "Are you okay?" He put his hand on her head and gave her the same examination she received from the Jinchuriki earlier.

 _No,_ she resisted the urge to say. She was _not_ okay with this level of care and attention. It was like he was scrutinizing her, and it was uncomfortable as hell.

"I'm fine, Co—Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura as she quickly corrected herself again. Luckily, this time, the starting letters of both his real name and his nickname had similar sounds.

"Did you sleep okay last night?" he asked. "Tsunade said you'd want to wake up in your own bed, so I took you home."

So that's how she got home. She imagined how creepy it must've been to have him hunched over her sleeping form in the dark. She didn't like the idea of being so vulnerable to an enemy.

"Yes, I did," Sakura said, forcing herself not to stiffen up. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei. I mean—Kakashi."

She was still a little fuzzy in her head. Copy Ninja had asked her to drop the 'sensei' years ago, when she made Jonin.

His eyes narrowed at her uneasiness.

She remembered just how highly attuned he was. Considering that she grew up with the Jinchuriki who was dense as a kid, and the Uchiha brat who was self-absorbed and later replaced by a sociopath, she figured he'd learned to compensate for the sake of a balanced team. She'd have to be careful around him. If he figured her out, Akatsuki's trump card would be a waste and their future would only be a dream.

"Sakura, how are you? Really?" he pressed.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed right now, that's all."

He took one long look at her. She could see his eyes studying her, calculating, making small adjustments in thought based on what he was seeing. His eyes emitted a sense of wisdom beyond most people his age.

This wasn't good.

If he started to ask questions—questions that she'd earlier managed to avoid being asked by ANBU—he'd figure her out in no time. She regretted not better preparing her scripts, but then again, she only came out for lunch with the Jinchuriki, who wasn't half as perceptive as the Copy Ninja.

The silver-haired man finally slumped his shoulders in defeat and waved a hand. "Fine, fine."

She relaxed.

Although he probably wasn't _really_ convinced, she was safe for now. He probably figured that she still had to mentally unpack everything that had happened in the last few weeks. The whole ordeal definitely would not have left her unscathed, emotionally.

He had no idea how right he was.

* * *

The rest of their group picnic went similarly, with many of Sakura's 'friends' and 'colleagues' tearfully welcoming her home. In their world of shinobi, coming home after a long period of unexplained or unplanned absence was apparently nothing short of a miracle to be celebrated until everyone died of exhaustion.

Her teammate Sai lurked in the shade. He never once made a move to approach her while she was surrounded, but numerous times she caught him staring. She supposed that just showing up was his way of caring. She could appreciate it. Especially today.

As for the rest of them… the poor, naive, unenlightened... they were all so silly for concerning themselves over something so trivial.

She recalled a very uniquely intense reunion with Lee, who appeared in his regular green attire announcing to the world that his love had finally returned to Konoha. She couldn't help but cringe at the display of public affection, but thanked him for the flowers to be polite. He made her promise that they'd spar later that week.

When it started to get dark outside, at around 6:30, the crowd began to water down. A select few stayed behind to clean up and the Jinchuriki insisted on walking her home.

At first, she wanted to turn up her nose at the offer. As an able-bodied kunoichi, she was fine to walk by herself.

But he was persistent and she was too mentally depleted to argue. So they walked side by side in silence.

She looked at the ground at her sandals, which made quiet scuffing noises against the concrete with every step.

The Jinchuriki didn't seem to mind the silence, for once, which was nice. He had both arms behind his head as his eyes watched the stars thoughtfully.

They walked like this to her front door. When they arrived, she sifted through her keychain in the dark to find the house key. When she was about to bid him goodnight, he turned to face her.

"Sakura."

…

She felt her eyelids getting heavy and her feet ached, but she waited for him to continue, patiently.

"I've been thinking." He paused to stare at nothing in particular behind her shoulder… and then looked back at her again, hesitating, as if he were going to say something embarrassing.

If _he_ was embarrassed, Sakura'd better brace herself for some serious cringe.

"You probably don't believe in this kind of thing. But two nights ago, I saw a shooting star and I made a wish about you." His cheeks started to get a little pink, even in this dim lighting. He shook his head quickly. "This is kid's stuff. But I got my wish and wanted to let you know that whenever I see a shooting star, I'll think about you."

He abruptly put a hand on her head and forced her head towards his face for a quick brotherly peck on the forehead.

Her foot stumbled forward to rebalance herself.

He ruffled her hair and reached inside Sakura's front door to flip the light switch so she wouldn't have to enter a dark house. By the time she managed to fling her messy hair strands out of her face, he was already leaving. "I'm glad you're home. Love you!" he called from over his shoulder.

His words echoed in her mind and she processed the last few things he said to her.

Sakura entered her house and shut the door behind her absentmindedly, leaning against it with a smile on her face.

A shooting star?

It was perfect, really. Because shooting stars were not what they seemed.

And they had no idea.

She was a meteorite—headed straight into Konoha.

* * *

Naruto walked home alone with his hands in his pockets, thinking about the day's events and reflecting about Sakura. He knew he was supposed to be meeting with some of the Rookie Nine for drinks and an after-party, but he wanted to make sure she got home okay. It got him thinking, and now he didn't feel like doing anything at all.

She'd been acting distant ever since she got back. It bothered him. And even more than that, he was angry at himself.

He'd always said he'd protect his friends. He wasn't able to save Sasuke, and that fact alone ate away at his insides every day.

This time, he let Sakura down when she needed him the most. She was kidnapped and he hadn't done a thing. Even when she returned, he was notified after the fact. He didn't even visit her until the next day. Are those actions worthy of the title Hokage? He didn't think so.

But the worst of all was the way she looked at him this morning when he arrived at her apartment.

Her green eyes were cold. She lacked the usual fire in her steps, and she didn't put up much of a fight when he teased her, which was rare considering Sakura could summon the energy to blow apart buildings on a whim.

Was she mad at him for letting her down? For allowing her to be taken?

She would've said something if that were the case. No, probably not. Something else was bothering her. Kakashi had noticed it too.

Maybe they just needed to give her time.

There was a shadow in his peripheral vision.

"Naruto!"

ANBU. He leaped down from the fence silently and naturally, fitting of the white and red cat painted on his mask.

"Hokage-sama called for you."

Naruto looked at the ANBU in confusion. He didn't know what could have possibly occurred between when he last saw baa-chan at the picnic and now, just half an hour later.

"What's the matter?"

ANBU was hesitant. "It's your teammate."

"Huh? Sai? Did something happen to him?"

From far away, it probably looked like Naruto was having a conversation with himself, because the ANBU had hidden himself in the shadows, away from the spotlight of the street lamp hovering over Naruto's body.

"No. Your teammate from Team 7 is back. It's urgent. You should report at once."

"Oh…"

An awkward silence was forced upon them. Naruto chuckled apologetically, a little slow. But he still didn't move.

ANBU waited.

"…Sorry. I don't get it. Is it Sakura? I just walked her home. She's fine."

While he'd outgrown childish pranks and learned to tone down his obnoxious personality for the most part, some snippets of the dense child in Naruto would make an appearance for short moments like this one, much to the irritation of his colleagues.

The ANBU's formality fell a little as he struggled against Naruto's thick skull, forced to utter the name that he wanted to avoid.

…

…

"It's Uchiha Sasuke. He's here."

* * *

**To be continued...**


	7. Far From Home

" _I've seen guys like you. It never ends well. You'll only tear yourself apart. And even if you succeed and get your revenge, what will you have then? Nothing. Emptiness."_

" _ **Shut up.**_ _What makes you think you know anything about it? It's easy for you to talk…you have_ _ **no idea!**_ _"_

" _Take it easy. Just try to calm down."_

" _Maybe if I kill the important people in your life - anyone who's ever meant anything to you - maybe then I'd listen to you. Because maybe then, you'd have_ _ **some**_ _idea about how I feel."_

" _That's an interesting theory. But I'm afraid you're a little late."_

…

" _Everyone you're talking about is already dead."_

* * *

His twelve-year old self was a jackass.

The man who tried to talk sense into him that fateful day stood right behind him. He was right all along. Sasuke never did get the vengeance that he wanted. Worse, now he was alone.

Kakashi leaned passively against the wall as they waited quietly.

Sasuke was on his knees in the Hokage's office, hands bound behind his back with chakra chains and four ANBU holding kunai to his throat. He could feel the skin on his wrists burning under the pressure.

_These damned ANBU._

The shinobi behind the masks weren't shy about how they felt towards traitors. To say that it was uncomfortable to be detained by them was an understatement.

It was simply a gesture of goodwill that Sasuke kneeled on the floor and allowed himself to be herded like cattle, but he wouldn't take it much longer if they kept up their conceit.

Tsunade sat with her elbows on her desk, glaring at him.

Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

What were they even waiting for?

He couldn't read her expression, and every _tick tock_ that escaped the mounted clock on the wall just irritated him even more.

Half of him wondered if even _she_ knew what she was going to do. If she was going to kill him, she should just do it.

Then he sensed it. A familiar chakra.

The window behind Tsunade's desk opened, and a man in bright orange pants crawled through.

_Naruto._

As they made eye contact, Naruto's mouth parted in shock at the sight. He was probably the last person Naruto expected to be here.

To be fair, he _had_ shown up without warning.

Never in one million years would Sasuke have thought he was a palm-sweater. But as his teammate stared him down, it was exactly what started happening.

For the first time, Sasuke Uchiha was actually nervous.

There was always so much to say in his head. So much that he'd prepared over endless nights of staring at the ceiling - variants of _I'm sorry that I'm an asshole_ or _you were the only one who believed in me_ or whatever the fuck _._

It didn't matter now. Sasuke suddenly found all of his prepared words to be stupid and shallow.

What could he possibly say? There were no words.

_He hates me._

That was the only thing that echoed in his mind, repeatedly rubbing the open wound with salt.

… _Especially after what I did._

Why had he returned here? How could he have thought this was a good idea? They would probably try to kill him.

He would fail. Itachi would live. The clan would die.

When Naruto finally spoke, his voice was low and even. "Baa-chan. What are you doing?"

Sasuke heard different words.

_Why are you still keeping him alive? What do you expect me to say to this traitor?_

"We're going to give him to the interrogation squad," she said as she spoke for the first time.

It wasn't a good thing to be turned over to the interrogation squad. That unit had a brutal reputation for torture, even outside the village. Anything was fair game in those dark chambers - even if it meant killing the subject and picking apart brains post mortem.

"What? Why? You can't—"

She held up a manicured hand, cutting him off. "Naruto! This is not up for discussion. Out of respect for you and Kakashi, I allowed you to see him first. But you have no say in this matter."

Naruto closed his mouth and looked at Kakashi to gauge an appropriate response.

Unhelpfully, and with barely a glance, the white-haired man lazily threw up a customary greeting hand as if to say 'yo' from across the room.

Sasuke recalled the first time they met Morino Ibiki at the Chunin exams. The man towered over them with his authoritarian personality. Sasuke was glad that now, at this time in his life, he'd been _around_ enough… or at least _well-traveled_ enough, to put it mildly, to be less intimidated.

Still, the measure seemed extreme considering that ANBU or Konoha would've never been able to catch him if he wasn't already willing to be there. Couldn't they see that he was being cooperative?

But Sasuke knew that if they wanted his opinion, they would've asked.

"What about Sakura?" Naruto inquired.

_Sakura._

He'd thought a lot about her over the past few years too. Naruto and Kakashi were here - shouldn't she be too? They were all a part of Team 7.

Before he realized, his eyes and ears had perked up at the mention of his pink-haired teammate.

ANBU swiftly tightened the chakra chains and brought their kunai even closer to his body. Sasuke's irritation grew but he had to bite his tongue.

"She'll be notified when the interrogation is complete. It may be hours, or even days. She shouldn't worry. Especially not now," Tsunade said.

Again, Sasuke heard something else behind those words. What the Hokage probably meant to say was that Sakura didn't need to see her childhood love be dragged away in chains. Knowing his pink-haired teammate, she'd cry. Or, maybe, she hated him now, and she would be glad.

He had no idea. Either way, her emotions would be extreme.

When he looked at Naruto, the blonde was looking at the floor with his hands balled into white-knuckled fists. That was what Naruto did when he wanted to restrain himself from acting or saying something stupid.

Surprisingly, the blonde didn't say anything.

"Naruto. Don't look so upset." Apparently the Hokage saw it too. "I'm not being cruel or unfair," she offered.

_Unfair?_

That meant Naruto wanted him to be dead instead of interrogated. As in, it was unfair that he continued to live after all he'd done.

"How can you say that baa-chan? You're delivering my best friend – no – my _brother_ to be tortured."

…

Had he heard correctly?

Did he just hear Naruto say _best friend_ and _brother?_

Sasuke's mind was slower to catch on than his body. It felt like a physical weight had been lifted off his shoulders. As if Naruto had liberated him of the chains around his wrists.

Sasuke had more or else accepted whatever gory fate was in store for him, but even he was surprised at the profound relief he felt from hearing that.

Naruto had called Sasuke his _brother._ Nothing could take that away from him.

"I wouldn't say that it's for no reason," said Tsunade with a sly grin on her face.

Naruto looked between her and Kakashi for clarification, and Sasuke realized that something about the situation was off.

"Anosa… what are you implying?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

Clearly, both the younger shinobi missed something that the older adults in the room already knew.

Now that he thought about it, he _had_ jumped to the worst-case scenario when he was brought in. At best, he guessed that he had a 50% chance of _not_ being killed on the spot.

At that moment, Tsunade's golden brown eyes became sharp as she confidently met Naruto's gaze. "Sasuke will be given a proper interrogation by Ibiki. If he can survive, it will demonstrate his cooperation and give credence to his potential re-introduction into Konoha. Without it, we'd have a difficult uphill battle with the council."

Wait— so Tsunade wasn't going to kill him?

Words were being exchanged too quickly.

There was too much information.

He listened carefully, not wanting to miss a word.

Tsunade glanced at Sasuke warily before continuing. "You, Naruto, and Sakura have come a long way from your Genin years. You'd be an indispensable asset to Konoha as the next generation's Sannin. That's irrefutable."

Tsunade began to take a formal tone in her voice, and Sasuke could feel the punchline coming. He wore a look of cautious optimism as he comprehended the implications – he didn't want to get his hopes up.

"If it goes according my plan, you three will initially join Kakashi as equals. I already have Shikaku Nara and the ANBU captain on my side. I will advocate for Team 7."

_Team 7?_

There could be a Team 7 again?

That was the punchline.

Things were going miraculously well, and Sasuke couldn't be entirely sure if it was real.

If it was a huge prank – and kami knows he'd deserve it – it would be the cruelest one.

From the looks of it, Naruto was just as stunned as he was.

"That's not all," Tsunade said as she motioned to Sasuke. "He has volunteered a compelling offer and I think the elders will want to take him up on it."

Ah, yes. The offer.

It was his trump card. The thing that gave him the best chance at getting back into Konoha.

Naruto's eyes widened, pupils hyperactively darting between Tsunade, Kakashi, and him.

"What offer?" he asked.

It was Sasuke's turn to talk.

His voice eradicated the lingering suspense in the air.

Everyone's eyes fell onto him.

"She means… the Uchiha bloodline."

* * *

A few days later…

On a cloudy afternoon, Sakura found herself blinking at fluffy yellow petals.

Flowers were being held so close to her face that she couldn't see much of anything else, and the man holding them was too shy to meet her eye as he held out the bouquet.

He spoke quickly with a strained voice, words pouring out of his mouth like an overflowing fountain. "Sakura-chan, I brought you Primrose for the occasion and they reflect your endless vigor and youth and all the joy you give me by being here. What a time for us to be alive – do you smell that in the air? It is the essence of vitality that allows me to stand here and thank you for the honor of sparring with you today!"

_Damn was that a mouthful. Did this guy even breathe?_

Lee appeared to be in a lot of pain. He clutched his heart with his free hand, twisting the green fabric at his chest. His eyes were closed and his face was contorted in an odd expression.

Sakura thought it was because he actually couldn't breathe.

"Uhmm..."

She was about to ask if he was okay, not that she cared.

Before she could do so, he burst.

"I cannot hold in my excitement any longer! And for that I will punish myself with one hundred laps around Konoha after dinner tonight! And if I can't do that I will do one hundred one legged squats! Sakura-chan, are you ready?!"

She awkwardly took the flowers from his arms and gently placed them on a wooden stump perched among a row of training dummies.

"Y-yeah, Lee. Are you?"

Sakura didn't know if she wanted to be there anymore.

_He took 'intense' to a whole new level._

Forcing herself to stay put, Sakura took a slow breath and assumed her fighting stance, signaling to Lee that she was ready.

He mirrored with the same. "I'm going to attack now."

He materialized at her side, too quick for the naked eye to catch. But she felt the air next to her shift and was able to block his kick with two hands.

She gripped the rubber heel of his shoe and thrust it backwards.

_There – an opening!_

In his millisecond of recovery, Sakura dropped to the floor with a sweeping kick in an attempt to trip and force Lee to fall backwards.

He leapt in the air with ease as she moved underneath him and jumped backwards to put a few yards of space between them.

He assumed his regular fighting stance again, not needing to breathe with how little effort he exerted.

"That was full of spirit, Sakura-chan!"

_Don't stand in front of your enemy like an idiot, Lee._

She took full advantage of his moment of vulnerability and leapt forward with a few punches.

When she finished one of her particularly long series, she ended it with a two-kick combo followed by a mid-air spin and a last final blow to his shoulder with her right leg, using her momentum to drive her foot into his body.

This time, he had to stagger his feet to prevent himself from being pushed backwards. He broke a sweat with the effort, and it was exhilarating for Sakura to push Konoha's Wild Green Beast toward his limits.

Most shinobi battles lasted only seconds. The more advanced the shinobi, the quicker to win.

Here, the two went on as equals, concentrating on trading advanced taijutsu combinations with nothing but the impact of their bodies sound tracking their spar session.

In a realistic battle where Lee didn't have his weights and Sakura used her chakra abilities, the outcome would have been even more unconcern and perhaps quicker.

However, this was a practice session and they allowed their heart rates to say elevated for quite some time.

Sakura found herself breathing heavily after a few minutes of high intensity, and Lee's cool exterior had also begun to wear.

They collapsed onto their backs and opened their eyes to the clouds moving in the sky, ample sweat wetting the fronts of their shirts. Sakura glanced at Lee in her peripheral vision and wondered how he never had a heat stroke in that one-piece he always wore.

He caught her staring and sent her the cheesiest smile he could muster, pulling one hand into an enthusiastic thumbs up.

She tried her best at a smile.

She still felt uncomfortable around her alleged 'comrades' in Konoha.

Lee was okay, she supposed. He was mission un-critical. There was no way he'd pose a threat to her getting the Jinchuriki, so she decided she could relax around him.

Actually, _relax_ was a stretch. She would be neutral with him. Either way, the sparring session was good for her antsy body.

"Sakura, you seem troubled. What are you thinking about?"

_Shit._

"Nothing. I'm fine," she offered.

_Think of something!_

She could only think about her mission.

_No, not that. Something else._

Lee shook his head. "Your eyes don't have their youthful—"

He didn't finish the sentence.

Sakura looked up at him and he was staring intently at something on her leg.

"Sakura-chan, you're bleeding!"

The alarm in his voice shook her more than any possible injury on her body, because if she was actually bleeding, she hadn't felt any pain.

"Here, let me see," he said.

In a heartbeat, Lee was on his knees and hunched over where she had a shallow cut across the outside of her thigh. She propped herself up on her elbows to examine it herself.

"Oh that? It's nothing. I don't even know how I got that."

She wasn't even planning to heal it. That's how small she felt it was.

Lee, still on his knees, bowed in apology to her. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Sakura-chan. I was careless. Please forgive me."

Sakura looked at him to see if he was joking. He took her silence the wrong way and continued.

"I shouldn't have been so demanding right after your return. You are still recovering."

_I'm Akatsuki, damn it. No self-respecting S-class criminal would topple over from that._

"No Lee, really." She put her hand on his shoulder to let him know that he shouldn't bow in apology to her. When he looked up, she waived a hand. "It's just temporary."

"Your beautiful face has a bruise too," he said as if he was horrified that he'd been the one to give it to her. "Sakura-chan, I am adamant that you heal immediately."

"Even if I heal it now, something else will happen and it'll be the same thing again."

"Please, Sakura-chan."

His persistence was annoying.

To get him to shut up about it, she drew healing chakra into her hand and grazed it over her leg. Her skin began to stitch itself together until there was no sign of injury except for a little scuff mark under dried blood. She did the same to her face, clearing the blemish that upset Lee so much.

"There," she said with a little impatience. "If it makes you feel better."

Evidently, it did.

His eyes lit up and he fell backwards again, chuckling to himself. "As always you amaze me."

Sure, it felt better now, but relief was only temporary. And that was what was so wrong with their world.

People were so concerned with the little problems that they didn't see the value in sacrifice for the greater good.

If Akatsuki succeeded, they'd wipe the hidden villages off the Earth. The world would fall to darkness. The world would experience true pain.

Then, and only then, could everlasting happiness be born into the world. No fighting. No injury. No hidden battles and power struggles. It was the gift of Akatsuki.

Theirs was the only permanent solution.

That's why she couldn't be bothered by stuff like this. Why did Lee get so caught up in it?

"So short sighted…" Sakura whispered.

Lee looked at her.

"Did you say something Sakura-chan?"

She quickly shook her head.

"It's nothing."

They both looked to the water and allowed themselves to be pulled into the comfortable white noise of the waterfall downstream. She could make out tiny specks of dark colors – baby fish or scavenging bugs. They kept her eyes busy so she wouldn't think too much.

Sakura thought about the last time she sparred with a colleague. It had ended very… differently. Actually, if she was going to be honest with herself, Hidan had traumatized her quite a bit.

Itachi could have at least said something to Hidan. Maybe he did privately. She couldn't know.

He could have at least said something to her. Something like his version of, 'are you okay"', though that was also difficult to picture.

No, they were shinobi. They only had the mission to look out for.

She quickly tried to shake off her comparisons. She had literally just tried to tell herself that everything was insignificant in the grand scheme of things and that Lee was being short-sighted.

So what was she doing?

She was a hypocrite.

Still, she couldn't shake the nagging desire for her Akatsuki colleagues to be more human every once in a while. Lee was intense, but at least he made her feel cared for even if it _was_ insignificant.

Sakura caught herself thinking too much again.

She needed to stop doing that in front of people, otherwise one day the Copy Ninja would call her out. He'd know if she was lying and that wouldn't be good.

"Do you want me to walk you home today?" Lee got up to stretch, signaling the conclusion of their sparring session.

Out of reflex she took Lee's extended hands and pulled herself up, dusting off her pants and her backside as best as she could.

"No, I'll be okay. Don't worry about me so much," she said.

She actually meant it. He shouldn't care. Because at some point in the future, she would probably have to kill him.

"Vigorous as you are beautiful, Sakura-chan! I'm going to start my pushups so I can finish one thousand by dinnertime!"

Before Lee finished his sentence, he was almost on his tenth rep.

Sakura called out behind her and they said their friendly goodbyes.

* * *

"Tsunade, there's no need to get heated," said Homura. "We all have a duty to do what's best for Konoha. That means weighing _all_ our options and having a _civil_ discussion."

"He is a dangerous and unpredictable shinobi," said Koharu. "We don't want you to make a rash decision. After all, Konoha has a council for a reason."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. They sure knew how to _talk._ From an outsider's perspective, they might even appear _rational._ But she knew their militant personalities and was tired of how they could manipulate those around them into submission.

"I've _already_ weighed the options, and _already_ justified why I think this is best for Konoha. Am I _not_ Hokage?!"

They went back and forth, less about what to actually do with Sasuke and more about who was better qualified to make the decisions.

Surprisingly to Tsunade, Danzo had asked to opt out of this meeting and allowed Koharu and Homaru to speak for him. This was a good thing, which meant that it was a bad thing. She learned to always question her luck. Danzo would be up to no good, she knew.

Kakashi stood in the back next to a very tired looking Sasuke, who was just released from his interrogation with Ibiki. While the whole debrief was reported to be tamer than originally intended, Tsunade could tell that the cumulative deficiency of proper nutrition and sunlight over the last few days were taking their toll on him.

x

His eyes hurt. His mind and body felt like he had taken a soldier pill – or three – and was left with the aftereffects, forced to stay awake too long after the power of the pills wore off.

Thankfully, his chakra chains were looser now. During the examination, ANBU learned that Sasuke had blockages in his right side preventing him from using chakra. So now, his arms were in front of his body and Kakashi was tasked to keep them that way.

"Orochimaru was one of our biggest threats. Sasuke was able to kill him. Even Sarutobi-sensei perished while attempting to seal him away," Tsunade said crassly.

"We know what he did to Hiruzen," Koharu snapped. "He was our teammate."

"And do you not care about the loss of the Sharingan either?! What is at stake if we lose the Uchiha bloodline?" Tsunade countered.

"We are not saying that Sasuke's return would not benefit Konoha," said Homura a bit more diplomatically. "But will you ensure that he doesn't betray the village again when it suits him? Can he be trusted as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf?"

Sasuke had to admit, it was a good question. Luckily, Tsunade was already prepared.

"Because he had no ulterior motive to come back in the first place. But Ibiki would be better suited to answer that." Tsunade nodded behind to Kakashi, who opened the door to reveal Morino Ibiki patiently waiting outside.

It would be the first time anyone did a report on Sasuke, but Ibiki's stance said he was sure of himself.

While the elders still considered Princess Tsunade to be the young and inexperienced baby grandchild of their former sensei, the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force had surely earned its place as a credible and unbiased third party.

"Ibiki," said Tsunade in her formal tone. "Please share what you learned about Sasuke, along with your recommendation for how he should be handled."

"Over the last few days, I've explored Sasuke's psyche in depth," Ibiki began. "He didn't resist. I was frankly disturbed by what he allowed me to see."

Still, the old woman looked unfazed, like she wasn't sold on the concept that Sasuke was any semblence of a victim in all this. "He left on his own. Orochimaru couldn't have created a monster if there was no darkness in the child's heart to begin with," she said.

"Konoha is no stranger to breeding assassins either."

The elders got stiff.

Was it the nature of hidden villages that forced them to breed child soldiers?

Sasuke didn't know. But it appeared to be a sour point for the elders.

"More important than _who_ taught him his skills is his _motivation_ ," Ibiki emphasized. "So I looked into Sasuke's tally after he left – everyone he'd ever killed or wanted to kill."

"We've heard the tales. Sasuke sent his peers to the brink of death many times," said Homura.

Sasuke scoffed. He wouldn't be surprised if any time a Leaf-nin reported a run-in with Sasuke, rumors of his descent into madness painted a picture that he could not be redeemed from. His name was probably only uttered in whispers for fear that it would bring misfortune and death - almost as if he had become as taboo as the Uchiha massacre itself.

He would always be an outcast.

"The villagers too," Koharu added. "Parents hear his name amongst the children's gossip like he's an urban legend."

"Yes, but has he really committed any irreversible crimes against Konoha? At his core, he's only truly ever wanted to kill two people. One is dead and the other is Itachi," Ibiki said. "Both were— _are_ — enemies of Konoha."

"Ibiki, it doesn't change what happened—"

Homura held up his hand to appease Koharu, who was now getting heated. "Let him finish. Ibiki, please continue."

"Sasuke believes he can help Konoha neutralize Akatsuki if Konoha helps him find Itachi."

Tsunade stepped in. "With Sasuke's help, Naruto and the kyuubi cannot be used as threats against Konoha. Everyone wins."

Koharu and Homura looked at each other, both incredulous to the idea of trusting Sasuke to hold up his end of the deal.

"Sasuke always fought to be alone. Even if what you say is true, he is still the same man who abandoned his comrades. He would do it again. That's why we can't trust him," the elder man said.

Ibiki shook his head. "That may be how it looks, but I've seen his mind. He has come a long way since embarking on the path of revenge. It seems he has taken some lessons to heart."

The elders stayed silent.

"I simply found no evidence to suggest that Sasuke poses a threat," Ibiki continued. "As far as I'm concerned, the biggest damage has been done to the hearts of his teammates. I would leave it up to them to decide if they want him back. That is my recommendation."

With that, the interrogation specialist bowed his head in respect to the council and turned around to leave. He made eye contact with Kakashi, who nodded quickly and moved aside to let him pass.

"Tsunade," said Homura. "You are Hokage. You are well aware that you can make any decision without us. If you and Ibiki are so convinced, I will not say anymore."

Koharu looked to Homura in disbelief. He continued, looking Tsunade dead in the eye. "But I will caution you on one thing."

Sasuke perked up again, curious about what the old man would say.

"Koharu and I are old. When we are gone, we will not suffer from your poor choices. The children of Konoha will. Think about what world you are leaving to them when you make your decisions."

"The children of Konoha have Naruto, and that's more than anyone could hope for," Tsunade said.

"I have one more thing to add," said Koharu. "Do not be made a fool by this boy. It is in your best interest to ensure he fulfills his promises sooner rather than later. That includes the restoration of the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke smirked. He knew they couldn't resist his offer.

"We will be monitoring Sasuke closely. Thank you for your input," Tsunade replied semi-sarcastically.

Sasuke waited as she passed by him.

"You two. My office. Ten minutes. I'll send someone to get Naruto and Sai."

* * *

"Kakashi, you can remove the chakra chains."

Sasuke remained composed as Kakashi deactivated his bounds and allowed him to stand a free man.

Funnily enough, Sasuke wanted to lie down. Not stand. He'd been standing for hours and his legs threatened to give out underneath him at any point.

The window behind Tsunade's desk opened and a masked ANBU silently entered the room. He bowed on one knee.

"Where is Naruto?"

"On his way, Hokage-sama."

Based on the chakra signature, the ANBU was his Team 7 replacement. They'd met already. The mask was pointless.

Just then, the opposite window opened, and Naruto mirrored Sai's placement in the room without the formalities. His eyes were bright and alert, and he looked antsy like he had been anticipating the results of Sasuke's interrogation ever since it began.

Now that everyone was in the room, Tsunade began to speak.

"You can see that Sasuke has been allowed to return."

Naruto sighed in relief.

"BUT!" Tsunade held one finger up. "Let me finish."

Naruto straightened up and waited patiently.

"Sasuke," she said as she addressed him for the first time that day. "Your return is very different from your acceptance. The villagers don't trust you. Most of your peers will shun you. And your elders don't trust you. Outside these walls, you'll find that Konoha and its people are now unfamiliar to you. There's nothing I can do about that."

Sasuke nodded.

"Sai was appointed to report your activities in the village. I'm telling you as a courtesy. You may not see him, but know that he'll always be watching," she said. "You can take off your mask by the way," she said as she motioned to the ANBU.

When Sasuke made eye contact with Sai, he received an empty smile. The guy had an odd appearance, he remembered. Sai's skin was very pale, almost translucent.

"We've arranged for you to take the empty apartment in Naruto's complex. You don't get the Uchiha compound yet. Naruto is also tasked to monitor your activities, although less covertly, obviously."

Naruto's eyes beamed and he sent a look like he was proud to share his building with his friend.

Everything was moving quicker than expected.

The woman clearly worked busily in the background while he was in interrogations.

"To give you the bandwidth needed to prove your loyalty and value to the village, I've fought for you to have extreme laxity. You can't kill Konoha's enemies from the confines of your apartment," Tsunade said. "But this means you get one chance. One wrong move, and you're out."

Kakashi stepped in. "I advocated for Team 7 to train right away, which gives you some freedom to move about. Your fitness in a team environment must be evaluated quickly," he said.

Suddenly, it occurred to Sasuke how little he knew about his former sensei's feelings about him. He decided he'd figure that out later.

"Konoha tracks a number of enemies. You'll be informed as appropriate. You are not to leave the village without prior authorization," Tsunade said firmly. "When the time comes, Kakashi will be your team leader. He will report the team dynamics and be the one to make the decision if you're fit to be on Team 7 again."

"Baa-chan, can we tell Sakura yet?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade looked over to him and nodded, not reprimanding him for the interruption.

"Yes, but here's the thing." Tsunade's eyes focused on Sasuke's injured arm. "You're pretty much unable to do any ninjutsu until you get that fixed. Shizune and I could help, but I wouldn't do that to Sakura. If she wants you healed, she'll do it herself."

"Sasuke will have to beg her for forgiveness," Naruto said with a devilish grin.

"Kakashi, they're yours. Dismissed." Tsunade waved her hand to tell everyone to get out of her office, as if she's had way too much of Team 7 lately.

"I just have one more thing to say," Naruto said.

An orange flash flickered before his eyes, and Sasuke felt something smash into his cheekbone. He was thrown backwards on the floor, cursing his exhaustion-induced slow reflexes.

"Naruto! What do you think you're doing?!" Tsunade shot out of her chair and slammed her palms to her desk.

"I wouldn't worry too much," said Kakashi casually, grabbing the Icha-Icha book from his side pocket. "Some things never change…" he said as he thumbed through the pages of his last read.

Sasuke rubbed his cheek, glaring at Naruto. Naruto had just punched him.

_That fucking hurt, you dobe._

"Okay, now we're even."

Naruto approached where Sasuke was sitting and extended a hand, grinning. "Let's go find Sakura."

* * *

**To be continued...**


	8. Reunion

_In the distance_

"Please—no—I have a family!" A man begged, although he couldn't see to whom.

His ragged clothes were drenched in dirty water and sweat. The air around him felt like ice but his skin was hot to the touch, burning with the adrenaline in his veins.

A figure emerged from the shadows, languidly stepping under the moonlight to show off the blade wetted with the same crimson fluid that oozed from the lifeless bodies down the road.

"I-I don't have m-much," he pleaded, desperately throwing his wallet out. "Take it—just take all of it." He tried to back away from the approaching figure with whatever remaining strength he had left. He stopped short of the edge of the lawn where when he felt the muddy run-off.

"I don't want your _money_ ," taunted the figure, closing in.

The cowering man shielded himself by throwing his hands up. A smell burned his nostrils—almost like rust, or the fumes of melted iron, even though there was no metal shop nearby.

He realized that it was coming from his hands.

And he realized that it wasn't mud.

He screamed.

There was not a soul that heard his fate that night.

The only thing left on the road was the bloody tracks of a dead body being dragged away.

* * *

The past few days were quiet.

The Jinchuriki suddenly stopped popping up everywhere like he usually did. Sakura hadn't seen him since he walked her home a few nights ago.

She didn't like it. Not just because he managed to escape her watch.

Something was in the air.

The rapidly disappearing reddish-orange hints in the sky signaled the arrival of evening, quietly carrying the weight of whatever bothered her with it.

She didn't know when it started. On her way home from her sparring session with Lee, Sakura was spotted by Ino. She was pulled into an impromptu hangout session for hours before she managed to pry herself out of the flower shop and into the grocery store, but that didn't seem to be the cause of her dis-ease.

As Sakura tried to place what she was feeling, the best she could come up with was a combination of jitteriness and nervousness, like she had too much caffeine and it over-flooded her system.

But she didn't usually have such reactions to caffeine. And she didn't have tea today.

She tried to reason with herself. The mid-autumn weather in Fire country meant warm days and cold nights, and some days would seesaw more than others. Today's weather was like a light switch and the chill caught her off guard.

Sure. That had to be it.

... right?

Try as she might, she just couldn't convince herself.

She walked briskly for a few minutes longer, eager to be with the warmth of the indoors.

It was fully dark when she approached her apartment. One arm balanced her brown paper bag filled with groceries while her other hand sloppily fumbled with the keys to her front door.

_Wrong key._

She flipped the keychain in her hand and tried another.

_Not this one either._

This next one would be it. It had to be the third.

Sakura paused.

A feeling that someone might be watching her creeped into awareness.

Except it was more than just a feeling. She was _definitely_ being watched.

But who was it?

It wasn't Akatsuki. If they came, it wouldn't be quiet.

It wasn't the Jinchuriki, Copy Ninja, or anyone else from Konoha. They wouldn't have a reason to hide their chakras.

It had to be someone else.

But she wasn't scared. Let them attack. Whoever was stupid enough to try.

Sakura continued to move naturally so that whoever was watching her wouldn't be spooked. She'd be sure to kick her stalker in the face as soon as she could unlock the front door and set her groceries down.

She just had to open her door and—

_Thump._

She froze. Goosebumps erupted over the back of her exposed forearms, prickling her with what felt like tiny electric pins and needles.

_Thump_

_Thump_

Her bag dropped to the floor with a dull thud. It pushed the door open as its contents spilled onto the floor of her apartment, swallowed by the hallway's darkness as they rolled and disappeared from view.

She didn't care about the mess.

Because she knew that chakra.

It'd been years, but she could recognize it anywhere.

_Thump_

_Thump_

_Thump_

"Sakura…" a male voice drawled. "What did Kakashi say about letting your guard down?"

She turned her neck slowly, emerald eyes searching through the dark for something to lock onto. He stood a few feet behind her, the meager streetlamp not doing enough to illuminate his face.

Why was he here?

He should be eliminated.

She prepared herself to fight, but her body had completely detached itself from her mind. It disobeyed her every intent.

She told her stomach to quit the butterflies.

No response.

She commanded her body to move.

It didn't.

If he was there to kill her, she'd be dead at this rate.

 _Oh god, fine. Just say something at least_ , she told herself.

Her lips parted.

With every fiber in her being, she mustered up the strength to assert a confident tone to acknowledge his presence.

Instead came a whimper.

x

Sasuke couldn't help but observe her every detail as he teased his former teammate.

He'd seen Naruto sporadically throughout the years, but he hadn't seen Sakura since they were fifteen.

She was much taller, as if she'd had a late growth spurt. The top of her head went just past his shoulders on his six-foot frame. She still had that short hair. Pink strands fell loosely around her face, just reaching below her jawline.

And her more womanly features did not escape his keen eye.

The sight lived up to the mental image he'd conjured up in his imagination, exceeded even.

He waited with amusement. Whether it was going to be tears or the puppy dog look of hurt in her eyes, he didn't know what to expect. She could just as well turn around and try to punch him for leaving so many years ago. That would be cute—she wouldn't be too unlike an angry little kitten.

Whatever it was going to be, it wouldn't be boring.

He watched her rigid back as she turned her neck to face him like a deer in headlights. Though she was among the elite now, it seemed like his plan to sneak up on her worked.

"Sasuke…?" she whispered.

He barely heard his name before Sakura's eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"Sakura!" Naruto appeared and rushed forward to catch their fainting teammate.

* * *

Could their food come _any_ slower?

Naruto sat across from Sasuke with Sakura on his right. What could he say to relieve the table of the suffocating awkwardness that somehow overtook the night? This was just painful.

Sneaking up on Sakura was not a good idea. He was lucky that she fainted because otherwise he would've been pummeled.

And Sasuke. Outside of getting a nod in agreement to visit Sakura, he hadn't gotten much else from the man. Not that he should be surprised.

Naruto always thought the only joy that could ever come close to being named Hokage would be seeing Team 7 together again. He and Sakura talked at length about their hopes and dreams for the future, including all the times they told Sai about their Sasuke and how his return would complete their family. How the world would be whole again.

 _This_ was not _that_.

It's like his two teammates didn't even want to be here. And for the first time in his life, Naruto could think of zero things to say that would put everyone at ease before their reunion dinner was ruined.

First of all, Sakura ordered _ramen_ instead of her usual BBQ pork over rice. What the hell was that all about? Who was this person sitting next to him and what had she done with the real Sakura?

Secondly, Sasuke was watching Sakura like he'd never seen someone with pink hair before, when all Naruto could remember was him going out of his way to _not_ notice her when they were kids.

Last, where was that damned Kakashi-sensei?

"Your order sir," a waitress said as she placed a hot steaming bowl of ramen in front of him.

 _Phew._ Now the pressure was off him—they could all just use the food as a distraction until this whole thing was over with.

"Before we eat, let me just say a few words of gratitude," Naruto said in a last-ditch effort. He looked up to his dearest teammates with sparkling eyes.

Sakura did not make eye contact with him.

Sasuke watched him blankly.

"…I guess I'll go first. I want to say thanks for being able to eat ramen with my teammates. Your turn," he said, looking at Sakura.

It was like she hadn't even heard.

He glanced over at Sasuke, who had his lips pressed in a thin line.

Naruto slumped in his seat. It was going to be a long meal…

* * *

Later that night, Sasuke walked alone under the full moon, pondering along the wooden fence that separated the civilian neighborhoods from most of the shinobi quarters tucked along the edges of Konoha.

His new apartment wasn't just _in_ Naruto's building.

It was literally next door.

He wasn't used to it—how his apartment was small and simple yet felt so big now that he slept by himself at night.

Sasuke thought about Karin. It was for the best, the way things turned out. Not because he didn't miss her, but because he knew he had to be pragmatic about things that he had no control over. He just hoped that she was okay, wherever she was.

He wasn't used to Konoha either. How some of the roads and buildings had been refurbished and he could now notice subtle things that he hadn't seen from a kid's perspective. Like how it was so normal for civilian kids to stand so casually next to cold blooded killers the same age.

Naturally, his thoughts wandered back to his new life and what he could do from here.

His blonde teammate was always altruistic. After all that happened, Naruto stuck by his word even when it hurt to do it. That was a kind of strength that Sasuke was never capable of, but at least now he gave credit where it was due. And he would have to try it for himself now that he was given a second chance.

Unfortunately, having Naruto on his side was only a small piece of the puzzle.

The biggest puzzle to Sasuke was the pink-haired girl who shed tears and begged him to take her along when he left the village at thirteen. That day, she claimed that she'd do whatever it took so that he wouldn't regret taking her.

He expected her to have some kind of emotional response to his return. Save for fainting, she'd given him nothing. Why was she being so different now? Was his long absence the cause of her looking at him like he was a stranger?

Violence, gore, the hard life of a shinobi—he could handle them all. But _this_ had him stumped.

It was certainly easier to not care. About any of it—complicated emotions, clearing his family name, or even forcing Team 7 to make room for him when he'd been the one to abandon them in the first place.

What had he left behind by coming here? Was it freedom? Maybe.

But he was also selfish and greedy. He wanted forgiveness, support, and he wanted his teammates back and for things to return to how they were when they were just kids.

Just then, a huge beetle whizzed past his head.

"Get it get it get it get it!" A young boy came bouncing down the street with a small toddler padding after him. He pointed at the fleeing insect, yelling for Sasuke to capture it before it got too far.

Without having to activate his Sharingan, he dashed into the air and grabbed it between two fingers gently, landing back on the ground next to the boys without a sound.

Up close, Sasuke realized that the beetle was an unusual one, with a glossy neon yellow husk instead of the plain black or brown ones typically found in the area.

The toddler reached up with two hands and Sasuke released the beetle into his palms. The wings of the beetle vibrated as it tried to escape, tickling the toddler and making him giggle.

"Cool!" The older boy marveled as he tried to sneak a peek through the tiny hole of his little brother's hands.

Amid their fascination, they both looked up and smiled at Sasuke.

He always felt uncomfortable around kids because he could never relate to them, but their innocent captivation with the wonders of nature was worthy of a small grin at least.

"Hey! What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" A young woman shouted as she jogged up to them.

The two boys jumped at the shrill voice of their mother, heads snapping up to her as if they'd been caught doing something bad.

"Mom! We were just—"

"You. Come here _now!"_

The older boy obediently ran to her knowing that he was in big trouble. The toddler followed.

But when they looked up to their mother, she wasn't looking at them.

 _She's looking at me_ , Sasuke realized.

"I can't believe they let you out of your chains already. Stay away from my children, Uchiha," she said with a shaky voice. The boys' eyes widened at the mention of the infamous name and inched a little closer to their mom.

Sasuke's face remained unchanged as he studied her. The woman appeared to be around Kakashi's age. She was small framed, but her body was softer and rounder, and Sasuke couldn't sense her chakra.

She was only a civilian.

She picked up the toddler and put her hand behind her older boy, nudging them in the direction of their home, probably, as she sent the occasional glare back at him before disappearing onto another road.

He had no idea who she was or how she recognized him.

Suddenly, he sensed a familiar chakra approach.

"Sasuke! Wait up!"

Naruto jogged up to where he stood still looking in the direction that the woman and her two kids went. "I was called to the Hokage's office. Pervy-sage just got back from a mission. What were you doing just now?"

"Just saying hello to the villagers." Sasuke turned around and started heading in the direction where Naruto just came from. "I'm going home."

"Actually, I have to ask you for a favor." Naruto pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small pouch of herbs. "Baa-chan told me to give this to Sakura and I forgot. She'll get mad if she finds out I didn't, so can you drop this off?"

Sasuke looked at the small pouch dangling from Naruto's hands. He didn't know why the Hokage would make a fuss about it, but it was most likely a medic or women's thing.

Before he had a chance to respond, the pouch was tossed up in the air and Sasuke had to hustle to catch it.

"Thanks bastard. Ja ne!"

Naruto grinned like a fox as he disappeared.

* * *

Sakura put her pillow over her face and let out a muffled scream.

There were some events that were just so unlikely that Akatsuki had never once considered factoring them into their plans.

In the event that the Uchiha brat decided to get a personality overhaul and return… which, by the way, over six years of active pursuit by Leaf-nin's top shinobi couldn't accomplish… then Akatsuki would _what?_

He and his stupid chakra-detective girlfriend had been one of the most annoying tails for Akatsuki to deal with—worse than the Copy Ninja's nin-dogs. Up until now, Sakura thought that was the extent of it.

Itachi was a genius. Maybe a little insane too, but that was beside the point. Why didn't he eliminate his pesky little brother when it would only take an easy three or four minutes of his day? The brat had only gotten stronger in the last few years and it would be difficult now.

Itachi's decisions were biting _her_ in the ass. Interfering with _her_ mission.

Curse him. Curse his younger brother. Damn all the Uchihas.

And for god's sake, she _fainted_.

It was all too infuriating—the way he cockily snuck up on her, pontificating how she'd left her guard down.

 _What did Kakashi say about letting your guard down?_ She mimicked him in her head.

 _Tch._ He made her _so mad._

Up until now, all she had to do was weave herself into the lives of all her "friends" in Konoha until she had a chance to lure the Jinchuriki outside the village. It'd been smooth sailing so far—victory was just around the corner.

But that all came to a screeching stop when _he_ showed up. Any mission with the Jinchuriki would surely include the three of them. It would be easier to just kill him now.

She wished she could ask Itachi if she could.

Well, there was _that thing_.

Before she left for Konoha, Itachi'd given it to her for essential communication, like relaying meeting times and locations. He wouldn't be expecting a message from her so soon. But she should probably give him a heads up anyway.

Sakura rolled over and reached onto the floor where she took a plain scroll from her pouch. She sat up and laid it flat on her bed.

Itachi's advanced optics was the only thing that made the inconspicuous thing actually do anything. She summoned the chakra pen hidden inside the scroll and began scribbling.

_Partner,_

_Uchiha Sasuke has returned to Konoha._

_Princess has added him to Team 7 with Jinchuriki, Copy Ninja, and myself. Future confrontation will likely include him as well. Be prepared._

_-Sakura_

The letters vanished as she wrote them. When Itachi opened the partnered scroll, he'd be able to decrypt the message with his advanced optics, but as far as anyone could see, it was still a plain scroll even after she'd written on it.

When she finished, she formed the rapid hand seals Itachi taught her.

_Tekisuto no Jutsu._

The chakra pen poofed away, informing her that the message was sent.

Just then, she felt someone appear outside her apartment.

Speak of the devil. She rolled the scroll up, shoved it into her pouch, and got up to open the front door.

_Knock_

_Knock_

_Knock_

"Yeah, I'm coming."

She poked her head out while keeping the lower half of her body concealed behind the door. She was in her usual pajamas—just an oversized tee shirt.

She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just stared at the man at her doorstep. The first thing she noticed was that he'd changed into a loose, long-sleeved black shirt since dinner.

"Am I not allowed to say hello to a comrade?" he asked sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes.

If the Uchiha brat expected her to blush or faint, he should know that it was never going to happen (again). It didn't matter if it was late at night and it was just the two of them.

"I don't recall you ever being talkative," Sakura said.

"I thought you'd be glad to see me."

_Ugh—no._

"Spit it out, Uchiha. What do you want?"

"This is for you, from Hokage," he said.

She squinted at what he was holding.

"Shit!" She snatched it out of his hand and ran to the kitchen. How could she have forgotten?

Sakura grabbed a mug from a cabinet frantically, pouring the contents of the pouch into it with some water. She let the herbs sit for a while until they were fully soaked. Then, she mixed the liquid with a spare chopstick.

When she finally took a sip, Sakura noticed that the Uchiha brat had invited himself inside her apartment. Arrogant of him, but she wasn't surprised. Maybe she could use it to her advantage.

He quirked his eyebrow as he rested his sword against a dining room chair.

"It's a med-nin superstition," she explained reluctantly. "After not sleeping in your own bed for an extended period of time, you have to drink a special brew on the next full moon. By 11:11. Hasn't failed me yet," she said as she lifted her mug to the air.

Akatsuki or not, some rules were just not to be messed with.

Why was she even explaining herself to him?

Sakura eyed her stoic ex-teammate, who was only just across the room. She looked at his sword, then his neck, then back to the sword again, calculating how fast she could plunge a chakra scalpel into his left carotid artery before he could unsheath the weapon.

When he noticed, she forced a smile and sipped her tea awkwardly.

Would he just get the fuck out of her apartment already? _God._

"And what happens if you don't?"

"What happens if I don't...?"

"Drink."

"Oh—this? Uhm, it's just bad luck I guess," she said.

The tension was palpable in the air, at least for her. It didn't matter that they were making small talk—she'd slit the Uchiha brat's throat in an instant if she could.

"I actually have a favor to ask," he said, breaking the silence. "If you don't mind, I'd like you to heal my injury."

Well, that was unfortunate. She wanted him _dead._ Not _more alive._

"You don't like hospitals?"

Most shinobi didn't. She was only delaying the inevitable.

"I'd rather it be you," he said flatly.

 _Me?_ What was _that_ supposed to mean? She ignored the fact that her heart tried to skip a beat.

She really didn't want to heal the brat, but it might look suspicious if she refused.

Sakura swiveled out the closest kitchen chair, placing it sideways along the edge of the table so she'd have ample room to stand in front of him. She motioned for him to sit.

He stood there for a second, looking at her with an expression she didn't recognize.

"Well?" She asked impatiently.

He looked almost _amused_ as he did what she commanded, relaxing into the chair with what she interpreted was ease.

She didn't know why, but the fact that he was so comfortable around her made her fume. Here she was, struggling to be calm, bodily awareness on high alert, while he continued to… _exist_ so casually.

She began a standard examination by pulsing her fingers along the left and right sides of his body over his shirt, ignoring his entertained watch.

"Does this hurt?"

"No. I was given an antidote so the wounds healed superficially. But I can't use chakra," he explained.

Sakura stood up and frowned. Healing this kind of injury was more involved.

"Can I see it? You'll have to remove your shirt."

She saw the faintest upward tug of his lip before he stood up to comply. Slowly, he lifted the shirt over his head and placed it on the table without breaking eye contact.

She suppressed the urge to huff.

What was he trying to do, impress her with his muscles?

As if _that_ would work.

He sat down and leaned back again, expectantly waiting for her to continue her procedure.

Upon a closer examination of his abdomen area, Sakura realized that healing him might actually take a while.

She decided to get comfortable, kneeling on the floor in between his legs. Her head was level with his flank and her hands glowed green as she reached up to insert chakra into both sides of his ribs, feeling his injuries with her eyes closed.

…

At first, she couldn't feel much aside from his eyes on her.

_Concentrate, damn it._

She'd healed millions of injuries before. This should've been no different.

…

"This was poison," she finally said after a while. "The physical portion of it was removed, probably with an antidote, but there are still lingering chemical effects."

"Something like that," he agreed.

x

Sasuke watched Sakura's face as she bit her lip in concentration.

When did she pick up that habit?

She never used to bite her lip.

Well, maybe she did and he never noticed. She always annoyed him as a kid so he made sure to avoid her wherever possible.

She'd done well for herself these past few years. Actually, he'd heard that she'd become quite the respected medical expert.

So many times before, he and Naruto had to be the ones to protect her. She was always scared, crying, or recklessly getting herself killed by throwing herself into the front lines when she wasn't prepared. Now, he was asking _her_ for help, allowing her to sit so close to him… like _that_.

She'd also become quite pretty. Objectively, only, of course. Sasuke supposed that Naruto might've been onto something when they were younger. It was no secret that the blonde crushed hard on their teammate, but Sasuke was too self-absorbed to really notice exactly how pretty their teammate could become if she just had a little more time to bloom.

There was just one thing. Over dinner, at first, he thought the old Sakura was gone and replaced with a version that was cold, calculating, distant, detached, and indifferent.

But he saw it now that he'd gotten a closer look—no matter how hard she tried to fake that she wasn't, she was fighting something within herself around him. Like she'd buried the part of her that was clumsy, spastic, and hot-tempered... and caring and warm—the Sakura that he was familiar with.

Sasuke was certain. Sakura was wearing a mask, pretending to be something she wasn't.

And it was certainly interesting.

The fact that she rid herself of that ridiculous childish infatuation only made it more so.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

Whatever she was doing…

Whatever _game_ she was playing…

He could play it too.

Winning was just a matter of getting under her skin… making her reach her boiling point... until the mask shattered under the pressure.

If Sasuke wanted Team 7 back to the way things were before, he'd have to get the old Sakura back.

He planned to do exactly that.

* * *

_Unknown_

Unheard. Unseen.

That was how he preferred it, peering into the window of Sakura's apartment from the shadows as she and Sasuke quietly stared at each other under dim kitchen light.

She had no idea that she was being watched.

It was a particularly lewd position that she was in… keeping her head so close to _that_ area of his body as she healed him.

She'd probably be embarrassed if she knew anyone was watching.

In any case, it wasn't the right time for his attack.

 _I'll wait a little longer..._ he thought to himself.

* * *

When she felt the Uchiha's eyes close, Sakura allowed herself to break concentration from her healing and look up at her patient.

His guard was down. _I could stop his heart,_ she thought.

Itachi, in the back of her mind, prevented her from doing so.

They stayed this way for a few minutes, comfortable in the quiet until she felt the traces of chemical imbalance in his system begin to regulate.

"You should be able to use your chakra in a few days," she said. "That actually wasn't the worst I've seen. The person who made the poison wasn't a pro." Satisfied with her work, she stood up and yawned.

Sasuke nodded his thanks.

"Follow up with me in 3 days." Sakura couldn't help getting into doctor mode no matter who she was treating.

As he got up to put on his shirt again, Sakura saw that he'd glanced in her direction a few times. She restrained herself from screaming at him to just take a god damn picture, because that would've shattered the perfectly-crafted air of indifference she wanted to maintain.

She didn't like the feeling she got when he looked at her. She made a mental note to sort herself out soon otherwise he'd continue to get under her skin. At best, it would infuriate her to madness. At worst, it would complicate her mission with the Jinchuriki.

When the Uchiha brat was done getting dressed, he slid the kitchen chair back to its rightful place and picked up his sword to leave.

Soon, he'd be out of her apartment and she'd have sweet peace and quiet again. She was counting down the seconds.

But just as she thought she'd seen the last of him, he paused with a hand on the doorknob. "Sakura…"

The way he said her name sent another involuntary flutter from within the pit of her stomach.

He did a once-over her body and smirked. "Goodnight," he said as he shut the door behind him.

Feeling like she was on fire, Sakura grabbed her mug and threw her head back as she chugged the last bit of her now-cold tea, hoping that it would metaphorically drown the damn butterflies so they'd all die and never return again. And what the hell was that tone he used?

She shook her head. No—she wouldn't care. She wouldn't get sucked into whatever stupid game he was playing.

Forcing herself away from thoughts about _him_ , Sakura looked at the clock. It was late.

She put the empty mug in her sink and told herself she'd clean it up in the morning. With a last check to make sure her front door was locked, she went back to her bedroom and crawled under her comforter, strategizing the her next steps now that the Uchiha brat variable had been added to her equation. Sleep would not overcome her until she figured it out.

If she tried to kill him via a direct attack, he might kill her instead. She wasn't stupid—he was physically stronger and Akatsuki's trump card would go to waste.

She'd have a better chance with a covert approach. Her "friendship" with that pineapple-headed Shikamaru had only sharpened her analytical abilities over the years. Sakura smiled as she daydreamed what it would be like to outsmart the Uchiha and kill him.

A thought crossed her mind. If she succeeded, Itachi might kill her for overstepping boundaries.

She frowned. Either way, it wouldn't be good for her. She might just have to learn to live with hi—

A thought jolted her entire body awake.

She realized why the Uchiha brat had kept looking at her.

Why he gave her that once over when he left, smirking with his _stupid_ lips on his _stupid_ face.

It was because she got distracted when he held up that tea-bag, and she forgot keeping her body behind the door.

_That son of a bitch._

He knew it too.

She.

Wasn't.

Wearing.

Pants.

Sakura smothered her face with her pillow and let out a muffled scream.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	9. Business As Usual

" _Hey, Naruto…" said Sasuke between labored breaths. "Rescue Sakura if it's the last thing you do."_

" _I will, don't worry," Naruto affirmed._

_They were at the disadvantage, facing Gaara in his transformed state. Sakura was trapped against a tree, knocked unconscious by a solidified sand appendage that held her up by her neck._

" _And after you've rescued her… take Sakura and waste no time in fleeing. If anyone... you can do it. I'm counting on you."_

" _S-Sasuke… you can't stay behind. You'll—"_

" _I still have the ability…" Sasuke grunted as his muscles strained to keep himself upright. "… To hold him in check for a while."_

" _But Sasuke—"_

" _I've lost everything once. I don't want to see my precious comrades die right before my eyes again."_

* * *

Tsunade stared at the note.

Its edges were crinkled from abuse and it was spotted with dried tea stains. It was the fifth time she'd taken it out in the last two days.

_Hokage-sama,_

_No enemy activity has been detected. We will return earlier than expected—within two nights' end._

_-Inuzuka A._

…

She gripped it once more, and with shaking fingers, read and reread the two sentences.

It was dated two weeks ago.

Two of Konoha's elite and an entire scout squad of nin-dogs had vanished from the outskirts of Land of Rivers during a routine scope of the area. Something had gone terribly wrong and Konoha had not heard a whisper.

No rumors, no witnesses—nothing.

Tension was brewing.

But they couldn't raise the curtain just yet. Konoha would need as many allies as possible before she could do that, if it was as bad as she thought it was.

She looked at her personal calendar.

Jiraiya and Naruto would be back today.

She needed Jiraiya to send his scout toads to investigate. It was an emergency now. The search would probably have to extend the rest of the neutral lands—Kusa, Tani, and Ishi.

Ame could wait. Konoha shinobi knew not to get too close to Hanzo. While he wasn't hostile, he protected his borders well; nobody went in and nobody came out.

Tsunade felt her eyes refocus on the note again. Furrowing her eyebrows, she read it once again.

What happened to them?

Their deaths would not go to waste—she'd make sure of it. But she couldn't go around pointing fingers until a few other things fell into place first.

Tsunade shoved the aged note back into her drawer, the strength of her movement causing the entire desk to shake and send ripples through the lukewarm tea that sat on a stack of papers.

She lifted her mug and scattered some loose papers until she found another crinkled note.

It was a small note; a hand-scribbled secondary roster of a select few shinobi. She'd thrown it together last night when she couldn't sleep.

It recapped the most recently deployed shinobi:

_Jonin: Kakashi H., Sakura H.,_ _Mimi I._ _, Naruto U., Neji H.,_ _Konohamaru S._ _..._

_Chunin: Hinata H.,_ _Ashi I._ _, Moegi K., Ino Y., ..._

_Genin: Sasuke U.,_

…

When all the new paperwork came in, she'd have to merge this with the master list.

The logistics of everything was giving her a headache.

She checked her clock.

It was only 7am.

"Kotetsu! Get me Shikamaru!"

* * *

"Does it have to do with boil release?"

"No, try again."

"What about lava style?"

"..."

" _What_?"

"For crying out loud, it's not that complicated. Your own team leader has this one."

"Oh… then it's lightning."

"No…your _other_ team leader." The older man rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.

"Oh! Why didn't you just say so? It's Captain Yamato. Wood."

"Because _Naruto_ … the whole point was for you to _think._ "

"Bah!" Naruto threw his hands up in the air as he continued to walk. Riddles and trivia were never his strong suit. "I'd rather use a shadow clone and find out."

"Well, I've told you for many years. Trust me, fighting becomes a lot easier when you learn to use your head. I know because I used to be like you," said Jiraiya.

"No, you were more dorky and less skilled than me."

" _No,_ actually, I was _very_ cool."

"HA! I never pegged you for a liar. Baa-chan alls the time," he said.

"Why you—" Jiraiya stopped and cleared his throat. " _Anyway_ … let's not get off topic here. Naruto, haven't you ever wondered why Sakura is capable of fighting the same enemies as you even though she's weaker?"

His eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite pinkette. "She's not _weaker._ She has that monstrous strength... " his voice trailed off as a shiver snaked down his spine. "I mean, she's strong. Like me."

"Naruto, she's a phenomenal medic and kunoichi, but you're much stronger. Physically. You have more chakra reserves and ridiculous stamina. You'll even learn sage-mode soon. Even without that, Sasuke, who doesn't have your chakra and stamina, is stronger than her."

"She's not _that_ much weaker," Naruto said in protest.

"Oh, yeah?" Jiraiya looked at him like he was naive. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happens when you guys are in combat together?"

"Uhm…"

He had to think.

He never asked himself these questions. And why should he? They made a great team. He always liked having Sakura around.

"Well, she usually stays back because she's a medic-nin and they're supposed to," he said. "From that position, she gives me ideas about how to beat enemies," he said.

"She gives you _ideas_ , or she tells you exactly what to do?"

Okay, fine.

"She can usually spot the weakness of the enemy or find some way to trick them. And that gives me the advantage," he said.

"Exactly. Now imagine how strong you'd be if you were still you _and_ had Sakura's analytical abilities," Jiraiya said slowly, as if Naruto wouldn't understand if he spoke too quickly.

He pondered that idea.

His shadow clone technique was all he needed, wasn't it? Whether it required one or a thousand, he would be able to clone himself enough to learn about his enemy's weaknesses eventually. Or just wear them out.

"Pervy-sage, that's great and all… but…"

Everytime they started talking theories and textbook stuff, Naruto would get bored and for some reason the information wouldn't stick.

He decided he'd have to dig into that on his own time.

But, later. He was hungry now.

He looked around. Were they there yet?

Naruto and Jiraiya were on their way back from the latest C-rank mission—keeping a girl company because her rich parents weren't convinced that she could make the journey on her own. He could've sworn that she was giving him signs that she was interested, especially during the last day of his mission. But nothing happened because pervy-sage was around.

He was never allowed to run around without the old man or Yamato or Kakashi, or sometimes Sakura for less risky missions. He had to remain guarded—Akatsuki threats and all. It was kind of annoying to be treated like a child, but as he matured, he understood why.

Where were Sasuke and Sakura anyway? It'd been over a week since Sasuke returned and they hadn't been assigned anything as Team 7. Kakashi said they'd get right to training and then _poof,_ that man was off on a mission.

Naruto was _so bored._

"Hey, Naruto," Jiraiya called, pulling him from inside his head.

Naruto looked up at his mentor who had a more serious expression than earlier. "What?"

"Do you consider yourself a man?"

"Huh?"

Was it a trick question? Naruto couldn't figure out how it was possible _not_ to consider himself a man.

"Of course I do!"

Jiraiya smirked. "Have I ever told you about when a shinobi becomes a man?"

 _"_ Uhh..." Was this going to be _that_ kind of conversation? The old man was a little late if that was the case. Naruto went through puberty a _long_ time ago.

Jiraiya probably saw the look of embarrassment plastered on his face. "I'm not talking about that, idiot."

 _Thank goodness_ , Naruto sighed in relief.

"I'm not talking about rank, either. You aren't a man just because you're strong or at a certain age," Jiraiya said. "Or even when you become Hokage."

Hokage? The most powerful shinobi in Konoha wasn't considered a man?

"Take me for example. I'd taken lives—many. I'd loved and lost in the war—was even named Legendary Sannin—but none of those things made me a man. Not until I was around thirty."

Thirty was long past manhood and treading into grandpa territory as far as Naruto was concerned. Shinobi grew up quickly; kids as young as eight were taking lives. In fact, at that age, Jiraiya was older than Naruto was now, and even Naruto considered himself to have already been a full fledged man for _many_ years.

Naruto felt a 'back in my day' kind of conversation coming. It didn't happen very often, so he was actually quite interested to hear what his old man had to say.

"Pervy-sage…what happened when you were thirty?"

"I was in Amegakure when we came across some orphans—civilians. Their parents were casualties of the war and they were left on the brink of starvation to fend for themselves."

Naruto understood. He'd been orphaned and left alone too.

"There was no comfort we could give them, though they begged and begged. I was starving, myself. And I hadn't written Icha Icha so there was nothing to my name. Orochimaru wanted to put them out of their misery."

"He was with you?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Tsunade was there too. Orochimaru was still with us back then, as my closest friend and comrade."

"Oh." Naruto as he realized how lucky he was to still have both of his teammates. "What happened then? Did he kill them?"

"No. I stayed behind and I taught them how to survive. I don't know what compelled me to—it's not like they had anything to give me. But that decision was the defining moment in my life when I felt myself grow from a person who suddenly knew nothing to a man who had left a lasting impact on somebody else's life."

 _A lasting impact on somebody else's life_ , Naruto echoed.

Hadn't Naruto already done that? With Sora, or Sasuke, for example?

He thought about it.

Well…

It took him a minute, but he realized what pervy-sage was _really_ saying. A lot of his own personal motivation up until this point stemmed from wanting something in return for his efforts—to be powerful, to be recognized, or to feel connected. This was different.

"Anosa… where could I find something like that?"

Jiraiya laughed. "It's not something you go out looking for, but when it arises you'll know. And it doesn't have to be so dramatic as it was with me." He then waved his hand to dismiss the air of somberness. "Well, this is just my personal philosophy, anyway. It wasn't supposed to be so serious. I just thought you should know. One day I hope you'll tell me about your defining moment."

Naruto returned a cheerful smile. "Sure, pervy-sage. I will."

They continued to walk in silence as Naruto pondered over their conversation.

He kept seeing Jiraiya sneak glances in his direction with a suppressed smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, nothing."

* * *

"Sakura, another one over here. Hurry!" a civilian nurse shouted.

 _Shit._ She was so tired.

Sakura formed her hand seals for the thirtieth time that day and immediately tended to the unconscious woman's stomach area.

"Ino! Here," she called. Murky yellow fluid drifted out of the pores of the woman's light skin. "Keep a sample for analysis in the lab." Sakura carefully controlled the floating muck with her chakra and sent it into an empty bowl.

"Got it," Ino said as she filled a test tube and labeled it.

"Hinata! Check for anything lingering, then hydrate."

"Y-yes, Sakura-chan." The meek purple haired girl ran over with a second prepared bowl and took over.

"The next one, Sakura!"

As summoned, she ran over to where a child had just passed out from dehydration. The young girl's skin was extremely pallid and wet to the touch, and she was shivering, indicating that she probably had a high fever, too.

"Ino! Bring the tray and some water, please." Sakura quickly wrung a cool towel and placed it on the girl's forehead.

"No!" The girl began to scream. "Stop it! Please—"

"You're okay," Sakura said, shushing her. "I promise."

The girl was probably having some sort of a nightmare.

When Ino came back with the assorted pills, Sakura picked out a low-dosage painkiller and cut it exactly in half with her fingertip. She dropped it into some water and gently lifted the girl's head, opening her mouth to funnel it down the girl's throat.

Just then, a man groaned from the corner of the room. "I'll give you what you want," he said with a strained voice.

That one was having some type of visions too. Sakura looked around for free hands.

The blonde was carefully re-organizing the pills on the tray, probably cleaning up the mess that Sakura left earlier.

"Ino, when you're done with that, please check bed number 32 for vitals and make sure he's stable. If he's not, continue performing the procedure I taught you guys."

"Sakura, over here," the nurse said again, barely giving Sakura a chance to set the girl's head down.

It was all the same. At some point, time had blurred. Had it been two hours? Six? Was it well into the night now?

The Princess had received word that almost everyone in the local civilian village had fallen ill. Normally, a new strain of the flu would hit every year, and it was just a matter of time before everyone overcame the bug and resumed business as usual. It had taken at least a day for word to reach Konoha by horse. Sakura, Hinata, and Ino were sent within the hour, and she hadn't had a moment's rest since arriving that morning.

This was not the flu.

Sakura guessed that it was something in the latest harvest or water supply that caused the outbreak. None of the villagers were even able to hydrate themselves because their bodies kept expelling content, and their dehydration was probably causing people to hallucinate. When the village's only doctor fell ill too, the situation became dire. It would require some later analysis in the lab to reveal the true culprit.

Something moved in the corner of Sakura's eye—Hinata just finished at her station. Without she was assigned to another. "This one is the same as last," Sakura said. No need for a sample—just heal. Then change the towel on his forehead."

Hinata nodded in affirmation before her hands glowed green.

"Next!"

Sakura didn't have time to think about anything else.

The afternoon continued similarly, one iteration after the next.

* * *

Sakura's chakra levels were severely depleted.

Thankfully, the local doctor said he already felt much better and he'd be able to take it from there. It was odd for something to pass so quickly, but Sakura wasn't going to complain. They were ordered to return within the day; Sakura knew the Princess was strapped for elite shinobi.

After making it just outside the village, Sakura couldn't will herself to run any further without resting for a bit. The three of them stopped, and she found herself perched on a large boulder. If it weren't so damn cold, it would've actually been quite peaceful sitting under the night sky.

Correction—if it weren't so damn cold _and_ if she couldn't hear the whispers from behind the tree...

"Oh come on Hinata, just ask her already!"

"N-no Ino, s-she's probably tired and—"

 _Yes,_ Sakura was tired. Thank god goody-two shoes had manners.

"Pfft, you're not bothering her. Come on!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. Leave it up to the confident blonde to ruin her fun.

The crunching of dried leaves under footsteps signaled the death of any possibility for solitude. Sure enough, it wasn't long before both women appeared.

"Forehead. Hinata has something to ask you."

Sakura twitched again.

"Ino!" The blushing purple-haired woman chided her friend, although it came out more like a whimper.

While waiting for an explanation, Sakura did her best to give them a blank expression instead of the one she actually wanted to give. She'd already spent all day with them, so her patience was wearing thin.

"I-I…well…n-not to intrude…" Hinata started doing that annoying thing with her fingertips again. "Y-you and N-naruto…" her voice got more quiet, and, after a few seconds passed, it seemed like she wasn't going to actually finish the sentence.

"Hinata's in love with Naruto," Ino said impatiently.

The girl turned so beet red that Sakura was almost afraid that she was going to faint.

Yeah, Hinata was in love with the Jinchuriki. Everyone and their mom knew. Even _he_ knew. So what?

"Y-you two are c-close. C-could you a-ask him t-to…" she stopped mid-sentence, again, and Sakura wanted to smack the stuttering woman.

The blonde interjected, probably to everybody's relief. "Forehead. Can you ask Naruto if he'll go out with Hinata on a date?"

And then Hinata _actually_ fainted.

"Whoa—" Ino barely had time to react. "I got you," she said softly.

They propped their unconscious teammate against a nearby tree and waited.

"This woman needs to build some confidence," Ino said as she shook her head.

Sakura inwardly cursed as she rapidly fanned Hinata's face so that the unconscious girl would come to. Here she was, an elite S-class criminal, helping women with their love troubles and doing _nothing_ to further her own mission. In fact, since the return of _that_ man, this was probably the most eventful day in weeks. It was maddening to say the least.

"S-Sakura, I-Ino…" Hinata said as she tried to recollect herself.

"You're fine. Just a little winded is all," said Sakura. "We'll rest for another ten minutes and then head home."

Good thing they were close. It was probably because it was so last-minute that she hadn't prepared well enough, but this mission had pushed her to her limits. Sakura's legs were weak and her brain was getting foggy—all symptoms of being critically fatigued. Not to mention she was getting crankier by the second.

Still, it was nice to get away from the village for just a little while.

After the … _visit_ where Sakura accidentally allowed him to see her in her... _pajamas_ , she'd done her best to avoid the Uchiha brat like the plague. Their encounters around town were one too many and she felt like she could never get far enough away from him. But even when he wasn't physically around, the image of his stupid smirking face would pop up in her head randomly and without warning—like when she was talking to patients in the hospital or at night when she was trying to fall asleep. So while she was shivering, tired, grumpy, and being annoyed by Hinata and Ino, the bright side was that he was nowhere in sight.

"So Sakura, what do you say?" Ino prodded on behalf of their shy colleague.

"Y-you d-don't have t-to…"

_Huh?_

She'd zoned out again. Curse that Uchiha. What were they talking about again?

"Will you ask Naruto?" asked Ino.

Right. The Jinchuriki. It was too bad he was just a vessel—the love was doomed from the start.

"Sure, Hinata, I'll ask," Sakura replied.

"Thank you, Sakura," Hinata said.

"Told you she would!" Ino said, rubbing her bare arms. "Hey—by the way, do you guys feel like the weather's getting chillier each year? I'm freezing!"

"D-do you want my jacket?"

"No Hinata, you'll get sick," said Ino. They were all wearing short sleeves under their flak jackets.

"I'm not cold," she responded. Sakura felt her eyes starting to get heavy. "Keep your jacket, Hinata. We should probably start heading back now," she said as she got up. Her legs wobbled a little.

With a nod, they started sprinting through the trees behind her.

The women behind her didn't say much for the next few minutes, which Sakura was grateful for.

It must've only been about six minutes when she found herself struggling to keep pace. Both Hinata and Ino had overtaken her and they were waiting for her to catch up. She thought about taking a soldier pill, but the journey home was so short that it would just be a waste and she wouldn't get a good night's sleep before likely being summoned for something else tomorrow.

She took another jump forward when—

"Sakura! Watch out!"

She slammed into something hard. The impact to her head dizzied her vision. She felt herself falling through the trees faster than she could figure out how to stop.

"Sakura! Sasuke! We're coming!"

Both her teammates rushed forward.

Falling from this high would hurt like a bitch, but it's not like she had the energy to do anything but wait in resignation. She'd probably break a few bones. Wait—did she just hear someone say _Sasuke?_

Suddenly, an arm yanked her body from the air and she felt herself somersaulting on the ground like a tumbleweed.

"Hey—are you okay?!"

She must've been knocked out badly, because Ino's voice sounded so far away.

"Sakura, are y-you okay?"

"Yeah… I think so…" she said as she rubbed her head. The world looked like it was jumbling around her. The next time Princess sent her on a mission, she'd be sure to not try so hard.

When her vision finally stabilized, Sakura realized that one of her arms was slung around Hinata's shoulder and the majority of her weight was leaning on the purple-haired woman. It took a while, but finally her mind caught up to her body and she realized that Ino's voice sounded so far away because she wasn't the one to save her. "Where's Ino?" she asked.

"Helping Sasuke," replied Hinata, blushing slightly.

Okay. Her night was officially ruined. Sakura scanned the trees, and sure enough, found something green and glowing next to a certain Uchiha brat's face. He had his arm around Ino, who appeared to be holding him up as she healed his nose with her free hand.

Hinata helped her hobble over to the other two and it wasn't long before she was met with onyx eyes.

"Sakura…" he began.

She didn't have the energy to force herself to _not_ feel the curiosity spark within her, to _not_ ask questions that would signal that she was anything but impartial to his existence—and that hearing him say her name gave her butterflies. But of course, all those things happened simultaneously, in her head.

He was such a son of a bitch.

"You look like shit," he said.

Crickets.

"HA—oh my, Sasuke, you must've hit your head really hard!" Ino laughed a little _too_ loud as she nervously looked between the two.

Sakura seethed.

"Actually Ino, my head feels totally fine," he said, smirking.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, _Uchiha_ ," Sakura spat.

"Is that what you say when someone shows concern for you _?"_

"Oh, _that's_ what that was," Sakura retorted. "Well in that case, you look like shit too."

"All the more reason for another healing session," he said with a wicked smile.

Sakura blushed furiously. It looked like he wasn't injured _enough_ —

"Whoa, guys," Ino said a little awkwardly, probably trying not to get caught in the cross-fire.

And that was another thing—Ino sure looked _content_ holding the Uchiha like that. Sakura was about to say something else when she realized that the brat actually didn't look so good himself. It looked like he was leaning on Ino quite a bit, like he was injured. Healing him was useless if he'd gone off and broken himself again.

"What happened to you?" Sakura asked. Her voice sounded a little more concerned than she meant it to.

"I finished my fourth mission today," he said.

Ino's eyes widened. " _Fourth?"_

"Y-you should c-come back with us," Hinata said to him. "Y-your chakra levels are dangerously low."

The Uchiha brat nodded in agreement, doing little to protest Ino's help.

* * *

Karin would probably say that Sasuke was pathetic if she saw his current state.

Sakura's hard and round head bashed squarely into his nose. He hadn't even felt her coming—that's how low her chakra was. Or maybe how out of it he was. She really _did_ look like shit, and the expression on her face when he said so was priceless.

He was pushed to the brink of exhaustion himself, having almost completed all the low-ranking missions assigned to him in rapid succession so that he could just get this part of his pardon over with.

"We're almost there," said Ino.

He nodded.

"Forehead," Ino called behind them, to where Hinata held Sakura. "I never thought you'd be so hostile to Sasuke," she said with a snicker.

It seemed that he wasn't the only one who enjoyed poking fun at Sakura.

"If you don't want him, I'll take him…" she said.

"Shut up, Ino- _pig."_

"Oh, so you _do_ care!"

"Shut _up,_ Ino-pig."

"Better watch out if you want to keep him around, _Billboard Brow!"_

"As if anyone would want to be with you, _ugly_!"

His angst-y thirteen year old self would've probably rolled his eyes in annoyance. His present-day self was too tired to give a shit.

The banter continued for a few minutes, until eventually, familiar buildings emerged. They were getting close to his apartment.

The four of them stopped under a flickering streetlight at a crossroad.

"Hinata—I'll take Sasuke home. Can you take care of Sakura?"

"Yes, I c-can," he heard a small voice respond.

Sasuke guessed that he'd have to entrust Hinata to get his teammate home, because as it was, he was only standing because of Ino.

"Alright. Let's get you home," she said.

* * *

_Unknown_

He was still undetected, watching Sasuke's every move from the shadows in the trees.

It'd been interesting to observe his interactions with the villagers of Konoha recently. This time it looked like he was bringing a guest home with him. From the looks of it, they were close.

He felt his body tense when he realized who it was.

Why was _she_ here? And with _him?_ Were they lovers?

He had to restrain himself from acting. It was still not the right moment to attack, according to this paper.

_Rest assured, Sasuke._

He would, though.

Soon.

* * *

From the corner of Sasuke's eye, as they walked side by side, he took in the view of the woman who was much more capable than he remembered her to be.

Ino was one of the few to accept his return without animosity. He never knew much about her personality, except that she used to be really touchy with him when they were kids. Come to think of it, today was probably the first day they'd ever had a conversation.

"Ino…" he said quietly.

She looked at him like she was surprised.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

She smiled. "For Sakura's sake."

Along those same lines, it appeared that Konoha's bonds only strengthened with time. He decided that he'd also make an effort to be nicer to the rest of Konoha 11.

"I don't know what's gotten into her lately," she continued. "I'm sure you've noticed that she's different."

Sasuke was about to ask if anything had happened recently, but decided that it was probably not his business anyway. He wasn't the type to be nosy.

"But it's not just for Sakura. I know what it's like to be judged," she added. "I'm not exactly promiscuous despite what you'd hear, and you're not as cold or heartless as people think," Ino said with a laugh.

He looked at her blankly. Promiscuous? Was she? He hadn't heard.

"We're here. Give me your keys," she said.

"I got it," Sasuke said as he took his arm back and straightened himself up. He reached into his pocket and dug out the key to his front door.

He didn't sense that she was going to walk away, even after he'd unlocked his door.

Why was she still standing there? Was she waiting for something?

It suddenly occurred to him that she was standing _really_ close to him. A little _too_ close.

"Ino, thank y—"

"I have one more thing to say to you."

The sudden curtness in her voice surprised him.

"Sakura went through hell when you left. Don't do that again or I'll make you regret it," she said.

It appeared that Ino getting under Sakura's skin was only a show; it was clear now that she was actually a true friend. Not too unlike his friendship with Naruto.

Sasuke inwardly chuckled at the implied threat. _She'd_ make him regret it? While he could appreciate the gesture, he didn't know how Ino was going to enforce it if she had to. She was probably even less of a threat than his pink-haired teammate.

With his acknowledgement, Ino smiled and returned to her normal cheerful self. " _Anyway_ , get yourself inside and rest up! I'll see you later."

He nodded his thanks and she waved a last goodbye before darting off in the direction of her own home. After she vanished from view, Sasuke went inside his apartment and locked his front door.

The light next door was on, he knew, but he wasn't in the mood to socialize with Naruto, so he kept his lights off and collapsed on the couch. Despite how tired Sasuke was, he knew he wouldn't get any sleep. His mind was restless—the way he usually got when he was forced to idle for too long.

Here he was, a _Genin_. Completing D and C rank missions like when he was twelve, doing nothing to get closer to his brother—the whole reason he returned to Konoha in the first place.

His fists tightened.

Not only that—the council was holding the Uchiha mansion over his head until he started to do the _other_ thing. Date.

The bureaucracy was one thing he didn't miss about this place.

It was all a means to an end, he told himself. He couldn't be hot-headed about it. His younger self wouldn't have understood, and that was okay.

_For now._

He willed himself to relax.

Sighing, he got up for a shower.

* * *

_In the distance…_

"Fuck! What is that?!"

"Don't look—just _run_."

Two men sprinted through the dry dusty air, their necks wet with blood.

"We're not gonna make it—"

They were stopped short by a mysterious being that re-appeared in front of them.

"I always like it when they have a little fight left," the cloaked figure said. "It adds life to my _collection._ "

"N-no—what're you doing—"

"Even better when they _scream._ "

* * *

**To be continued...**


	10. Know Your Enemy

"It's Ame," Jiraiya said. "Hanzo is dead."

His toads had just gotten back from their scout. They found nothing in any of the neutral territories except for the long discarded rumors of civil war in Hidden Rain and the assassination of the Salamander.

Up until now, he was Hanzo the Undefeated—the single shinobi in existence who was stronger than the Legendary Sannin back in their prime. There was almost no chance Akatsuki would be headquartered there as long as he was alive.

"It makes sense. Hanzo always closed Ame to outsiders. Any unrest or change in leadership could easily be kept invisible to the outside world," Tsunade agreed.

And that was the problem. They had no way to verify the rumor without infiltrating Ame.

"I've been able to confirm the name of Akatsuki's leader," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade felt goosebumps erupt over her body. When did he—

"Don't look so upset," he said with a smirk. "It's just a name. According to sources, he goes by the name Pein."

That knowledge was surely too dangerous for any one person to possess. She wanted to yell at Jiraiya for being so reckless. For putting a target on his back. For not consulting her and doing something stupid in the name of the village. Shoving her personal feelings aside, she managed to ask the proper question. "What were you able to figure out about Pein?"

Jiraiya shifted his body weight along the window sill. She chalked it up to them being teammates, but he never formally stood in front of her desk when they talked business, often choosing to prop his legs up instead. "Not much about him, but we did confirm his plans," he said. "The other villages have lost their tailed beasts—not that they'll admit it."

If Akatsuki had already taken tails one through seven, it wasn't hard to guess who they were coming for next.

"There's going to be another war," Tsunade said grimly.

"Looks like it."

The door flew open.

"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade sprung out of her chair. "Haven't you heard of knocking, Shikamaru?!"

"Ah—Sorry," he said, out of breath. "Word arrived from Suna—they sent Tobimaru."

"What?!" Her goosebump-y skin jumped once more. Tobimaru was the fastest messenger hawk in Suna. If they sent him, it was bad. She glanced at Jiraiya. Still as a rock—he hadn't even flinched.

"Send the message for decryption. Now!"

"It's been decrypted, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said. "I came to tell you the message."

"Well then you're not talking fast enough! Spit it out, boy!" Jiraiya exclaimed, his humorous undertone contradicting Tsunade's mood.

"Two of Suna's shinobi were taken from the border next to Ishi," he said. "Their bodies were not recovered."

"Is it related to Inuzukas' disappearances?"

He nodded. "It appears so… Suna believes that forces have begun to move behind the scenes. We should act immediately."

Damn it. It was just as she feared.

"Shikamaru—was it Iwa?"

She made eye contact with Jiraiya as she said it. They had discussed the issue in private, but she decided it was about time to loop in Konoha's military strategist.

"I'm more inclined to think it's Akatsuki. The organization already has an established agenda, but it's too soon to say exactly who was behind the attack."

"But we don't know if Akatsuki has allies. Is there any evidence to suggest that it wasn't Iwa?" asked Jiraiya.

"Kankuro was with Jonin from Iwa when the news broke. He reports that the Iwa-nin were just as shocked as he was. They claimed to have nothing to do with it. They're conniving by nature, but Kankuro asked them a direct question and they are known to be poor liars."

Tsunade nodded. "Obviously, the best case scenario would be that Iwa intends to fight Akatsuki alongside us," she said. "We would have to let bygones be bygones."

"Affirmative. If Iwa can agree to a Konoha-Suna-Iwa alliance, the middle territories will cave. With a united west front, we can call a summit and more easily secure alliances with the other two kages," Shikamaru said.

"Well, that's putting it simply, but that's the gist of it," Jiraiya agreed. "In the meantime, I'll try to find out more about this Pein I've been hearing so much about."

"Pein?"

"Nothing," Tsunade said, waving her arm to say that the information was on a need-to-know basis. She shot Jiraiya a dirty look for being so casual about it. "Shikamaru—what will your first step be?"

He yawned very loudly and scratched his head.

She had to refrain from shaking him awake. The kid was so _freaking_ lazy.

"It'll be troublesome, but I'll go to Suna and make preparations for a joint military effort."

"Be off within the day, then. This part should be more or less routine for you," Tsunade said.

"Yes, hokage-sama."

"Kakashi should be back soon. When he returns, I'll send a team to gather intel on Iwa."

She had just the team in mind.

"Are you thinking of an evaluation already?" asked Jiraiya, reading her like a book.

Tsunade nodded. "Best to test them them sooner than later."

Shikamaru turned to leave.

"Oh and…Shikamaru?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Say hi to Temari for me."

"Ah—well that's not really… erm—"

* * *

"Sakura-sensei, could you _please_ show us one more time?"

So this is what her life had come to. Teaching little brats—enemy brats—the secrets of her ways. She was glad her Akatsuki teammates weren't around otherwise they'd probably judge her for falling so low.

She thought back to how she got suckered into it. Shikamaru left for Suna abruptly, and he asked Princess Tsunade to assign his despicable Genin to Sakura because apparently they liked her _that_ much.

She was left with a note that said she could either accept the task or work out a deal with the Uchiha brat, who happened to be an overachiever and finished all his missions earlier than expected.

She didn't hesitate to choose the former.

"It's like this. Do you guys remember the tree climbing exercise?"

They shook their heads.

Sakura wanted to face palm. What was that pineapple-head doing? Teaching them _Shogi_?

"Do you guys know how to stick yourselves to... uh," she struggled. "O _bjects..._ using chakra?"

Meh. Wasn't graciously put, but good enough.

Mirai was the first to speak. "Yes, sensei. Like this?"

The girl flawlessly picked up a nearby log about the size that would've been good for a substitution jutsu—it was too large for her to wrap a hand around and must've been heavy. It stuck to her hand like glue.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Are Oishi and Tone able to do that too?"

The other two Genin shrugged and took turns demonstrating perfect stickiness.

Sakura examined the log afterwards, observing that there were no signs of wear and tear. The wood was perfectly unharmed.

Her assumption was wrong, it seemed. They _weren't_ playing Shogi all day.

With their level of intuition, the Genin brats were probably allowed to skip right past the tree-climbing exercise.

Now that she thought about it, she'd completed the tree-climbing exercise on her first try and doubted that the Copy Ninja would've made it an entire day's lesson if the Jinchuriki and Uchiha brat had any talent for chakra control.

"Great. The principle behind walking on water is almost the same thing, except this time you're pushing chakra _out_ to stay on top of the water."

The brats looked at her with their little minds spinning.

"But sensei… if it's pretty much the same thing, why did Shika ni-chan wait so long before he told us to learn it?"

"Well, it's harder. You have to constantly adjust the amount of chakra depending on how deep the water is."

Sakura was much older than them when she learned it, but she wasn't about to volunteer that information to the little runts.

"Here—lemme try!"

Oishi quickly stood and took off his shirt. He began to take off his pants when—

"Ow! Mirai what are you doing—"

"What do you think _you're_ doing?!" Mirai asked. "Nobody needs to see that! Keep your pants on! "

"Geez… fine," he grumbled, rubbing his head. "You're such a _prude_. They're just going to get wet anyway."

Mirai sent him another warning look and Oishi cowered.

He folded his shirt and set his stuff in a neat pile on a boulder.

"Here I go," he announced.

He took one step onto the water and it swallowed him whole.

"Hahahahaha—"

Mirai clutched her stomach, wheezing.

Tone sighed. "Mirai, you shouldn't laugh…"

"I know, sorry. I couldn't help it," she said as she wiped a tear.

Knowing Oishi, it was karmic retribution for something he did earlier that day. "It's a lot harder than it looks!" he shouted while treading water.

With the way he charged at the water, Sakura wasn't surprised.

"Tone—are you ready? Let's do it," Mirai said with a look of determination.

He nodded at her encouragement, and they both took off their forehead protectors and shoes before running to the edge of the water.

Sakura watched as they stopped to meditate for a few seconds, likely visualizing their chakra collecting at their feet.

So far so good.

Mirai opened her eyes first.

She took one step forward and—

_Splash._

Into the water she went.

"Ha! See?" Oishi said to his underwater teammate.

Mirai's head emerged with her wet hair clinging to the back of her neck. She shot a mouthful of water into Oishi's face.

"Ew—get it off!"

Sakura's last hope rested on Tone it seemed.

If all three of them had a similar problem, there was probably something fundamentally missing that would require a little more effort for her to address. Shikamaru was getting a _great_ deal out of this. His plan was phenomenal—dump the kids, run off to Suna, and then come back to a powered-up team of Genin without putting in any of the work.

"You can do it, Tone!" said Mirai.

"Just don't screw up, okay? No pressure," Oishi said, still treading water.

Sakura watched as the last one cautiously pressed one foot onto the surface of the water with most of his weight hanging back. When it seemed like his foot was firmly secure, he took another wobbly step forward, both feet hovering above and beneath the surface of the water with unpredictability. It seemed to be working, if he could _just_ get the last bit of balance right…

Sakura watched him gain a bit more confidence. When his body looked like it stabilized above the water, he put his hands on his hips.

"I guess this isn't so—GAH!"

"Whoa—watch it!" Oishi launched himself out of the way.

_Splash._

Sakura dropped her head. It looked like she had her work cut out for her. "Just be thankful that we're not at the hot _hot_ springs, otherwise you guys would be cooking."

She would've taken them to the regular stream where most shinobi did their training, but the mid-fall weather was chilly and she didn't want them to catch a cold. Not that she cared—it was more like she didn't want to have to answer to pineapple-head if they all got sick.

"Oi! Sakura!"

Where'd that come from? She scanned the surrounding meadow and the farther away buildings where Konoha's hot springs were located. Finally, her eyes settled on a pair of arms waving in the air.

Even at this distance, the distinct voice of the man was unmistakable. Not like the outfit was doing him any favors to blend in, anyway.

It was the Jinchuriki. And he was with that Sarutobi kid.

What an eye sore. How nice it must've been for a vessel to roam so freely, not knowing that he only belonged in a cage where his existence could actually contribute to something. Seeing him walking around Konoha was just another constant reminder of how she was stuck in the village, doing little to meet her Akatsuki's objectives.

As the two approached, Sakura lamented how she couldn't just write a time and date into a scroll and lure the Jinchuriki out to meet Itachi. He was rarely allowed outside the village without the toad-hermit or Copy Ninja, and the meeting location needed to be far enough from the village otherwise complications would arise.

She was feeling antsier with every week that best case scenario would be if Team 7 were sent on a diplomatic mission, soon. Something easy and non-threatening, like a delivery or escort. That way, maybe Princess would let him out with just the three of them.

"Naruto, hey!" she said with her most cheerful expression.

At least she could celebrate the progress she'd made so far. She'd gotten good at faking her friendliness, and all her "friends" were none the wiser. She also stopped accidentally calling the blonde "Jinchuriki"—she patted herself on the back for that.

"Are you guys relaxing? A bath sure sounds nice right now," the blonde said to her.

"Naruto ni-chan, it looks like they're doing some training."

At that moment, they both grinned, and Sakura knew for a fact that she was in for it.

"Let's go see if we can give them some tips," the blonde said, rubbing his nose with a smug grin.

Konohamaru chortled and followed along.

"Hey you two," Sakura interjected, trying to stop them. "Wait a second—"

It was too late.

Oh _no._

"Hey Mirai!"

"Oh hey, cousin Konohamaru!"

She watched the two men insert themselves into her lesson, crouching and examining the little chakra-feet of the Genin brats as they repeatedly tried walking and then _kerplunking_ into the water.

"Mhm... mhm, I see," said the Jinchuriki as he nodded and rubbed his chin scientifically. "Well, what you need to do is…how can I put this…it's really easy if you can…"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"The best way to do it is imagine you want to fly, and push out chakra from your feet like you're on a rocket," the blonde said.

He was talking out of his ass. With that type of thinking, a shinobi would designate all their chakra to standing. It was so stup—

"Stupendous, Naruto ni-chan! I totally get what you're saying," Konohamaru said, nodding along enthusiastically.

"Really...so that's how you do it..." Oishi said. He looked like he was deep in thought, like the blonde had said something philosophical. Slowly, he got out of the water and stood next to the blonde and Konohamaru, shooting them a cheesy grin. "Sounds awesome!"

Of course Oishi would be the first to fall victim to the blonde and his sidekick's antics. Three peas in a pod.

Tone and Mirai looked at each other doubtfully.

The girl began to whisper, "somehow I don't think that's—"

"Correct," said the Jinchuriki. "That's exactly how you do it."

 _That's exactly how you leak chakra and die in battle_ , Sakura thought to herself.

"Oi! Sasuke! Stop lurking like a creep and come over here for a second!"

Sakura screamed in her head. It was bad enough that her lesson was hijacked by dumb and dumber. Just when things couldn't get any worse—

"Who's that?" Tone asked.

"I don't know but he's… _so_ handsome," Mirai said, blushing, practically with hearts in her eyes.

No. No. _No._

Tone looked from Mirai to the Uchiha brat and then back to her again, scoffing. "He's nothing special," he muttered. "I don't see what the big deal is…"

"Me neither, kid. Me neither," Sakura grumbled to herself.

The Jinchuriki waited for the Uchiha brat to near, which he did apathetically with a hand resting on his sword.

"Anosa! Sasuke, we never had a chance to learn this exercise together," he said. "I'm teaching them how to walk on water. I said they need to think of themselves like a rocket."

Sakura twitched. _He_ was teaching the kids? Wasn't it supposed to be _her?_ She felt a headache coming.

The Uchiha brat smirked. "Naruto, you're the only one who can think of it like that because you have limitless chakra."

And there emerged a familiar competitive look. "Well then, _Sasuke_ , how would _you_ say it?"

"Think of the chakra as a platform underneath each foot, acting as a barrier between you and the water. The deeper the water, the more dense your chakra has to be."

 _Well…_ Sakura thought, it wasn't _exactly_ like that, but it was a lot more accurate than the Jinchuriki's theory.

The blonde scrunched his nose like he smelled something fishy. "That sounds like a load of mumbo-jumbo bologna."

"Yeah… I have a funny feeling about that," Konohamaru added.

He was the perfect henchman, really.

"Just because you don't _understand_ doesn't mean it's not real," the Uchiha brat retorted.

"Don't get all cocky bastard—"

"Wait—I understand it!" Mirai said, enthusiastically getting out of the water to stand next to her crush. When he looked at her, her voice became shy. "I mean… I _think_ I get it…"

Tone and Oishi both glared.

Suddenly the Jinchuriki's eyes lit up. "I have an idea! Why don't we see who's method works the best? A little team 7 competition," he said.

Now _that_ was going too far. Sakura began to protest. "Absolutely n—"

"Yeah!" all three Genin shouted at once.

She wanted to tell the Jinchuriki and Uchiha brat off for interfering with her day.

No—her _life._

"What's _your_ secret, Sakura-sensei?" Tone asked as he got out of the water.

Sakura inwardly groaned. Mirai and Oishi's eyes were already gleaming with enthusiasm, and her Team 7 mates were looking at her expectantly. Backing out now would just cause a ruckus.

_Oh, for the love of god._

"Come here, Tone. I'll tell you in secret," Sakura said as she bent down to his level. "You and the water are two magnets," she whispered. "Your chakra should repel the water. The deeper the water, the less effort you need."

Tone's eyes got wide as the sudden revelation clicked.

"Ready teams," the Jinchuriki shouted.

All three Genin lined up in front of the water, prepared.

"Ready… set… go!"

They took off running.

* * *

_Unknown_

Hidden in the leaves, he watched the chaos ensue.

It was always a pleasure to observe people when they didn't know they were being watched. It was much more natural this way.

He'd been waiting for a chance for days.

They were all together now, in one place at the same time. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. _.._

Smiling, laughing, candid.

The perfect setup.

_Yes…_

It was time.

* * *

A swift movement scared a flock of birds from the trees, sending ruffled feathers and wings flapping in every direction.

Sakura jerked her head towards the disturbance.

Everyone else must've felt it too.

Something in her peripheral vision flickered. She only caught a glimpse before it disappeared again.

It was so fast—she could only catch the tail of a shadow each time it moved—

_There it was again._

And gone.

She could've sworn it was moving closer.

Another flicker.

Closer.

Suddenly, something slimy looking flung itself from the grass and aimed at her neck—

An enemy?!

Sakura was about to scream when a blurry flash of black and red whizzed by her.

She hadn't even had time to blink before she heard the swish of a blade cutting into tissue. A moment later, two halves of a snake fell limply onto the grass just beside her.

"S-so fast… " she heard Konohamaru whisper from behind her.

Neither of the other two Jonin managed to form a single hand sign. Sakura hadn't even moved to grab a weapon from inside her pouch. Yet, somehow the Uchiha brat had managed to unsheathe his blade and slice their enemy in two in the time it took everyone else to register what happened. He now stood next to her, his eyes on high alert.

The air became swollen with anticipation.

Sakura rapidly scanned their surroundings, this time prepared with a kunai in her hand.

What was happening? It was unlikely that a snake planned the attack all by itself.

It was too quiet.

Something by her foot caught her eye—it was gross and messy and black, and splattered all over the place, covering some of her toes and sandals with stickiness.

Wait.

_Paint?_

That meant—

A figure zoomed out from the trees and tackled the Uchiha brat to the ground, marginally missing Sakura by centimeters.

The two tumbled and tumbled, grunting and wrestling with all of their might, smudges of green grass and ink and dirt ruining their clothes.

"Sai! What the hell are you doing?!" the Jinchuriki shouted.

Sakura's mouth fell agape—she couldn't believe her luck. It was the pale one... and he was trying to kill the Uchiha.

"Ninpō: Chōjū Giga!"

Sai's brush sopped with fresh black ink—Sakura hadn't even seen him pull it out—and in one smooth motion, it spilled intricate curves and swirls onto a blank scroll being pulled through the air. Six lion heads came roaring to life as they swarmed out of the paper in a tangled flurry, snarling and materializing on the grass.

Three of the beasts charged forward with a direct attack while the rest circled around back, enclosing the Uchiha brat in an inescapable circle.

Sai pulled out his scroll once again, and in rapid succession, stripes of ink flew onto the paper.

"Ninpō: Chōjū Giga."

Three slithery snakes followed suit, weaving through the grass with phenomenal speed.

"What the _fuck_?" the Uchiha brat raged as he narrowly dodged one of the beasts. Sharp jagged teeth clamped down on his sword and he clenched his jaw as he swiveled his grip, sending the sharp blade slashing through the beast's mouth.

Ink splattered in all directions again, dotting their faces and clothes and making a mess in the air before loose droplets fell to the ground.

"Not yet..." Sai formed his hand seal and commanded the snakes, unwilling to allow the Uchiha one second of rest. "You're not escaping—"

His opponent cursed, leaping out of the way as another beast surged forward with a roar, followed by a slithery slime ball of a snake or two.

Sakura could barely keep up. She only knew that she wished the damned Uchiha brat would get caught and die already.

One of the snakes creeped up behind him, slithering its way through the chaos and aiming for a ripe ankle. A second beast circled around and Sakura realized that the lions were only a diversion—and a good one at that—so that the snakes could work their magic.

There— it had him!

"Sasuke! Behind you!"

The snake bit into a whole lot of nothing as it coiled around itself so tightly that it burst from its own pressure.

Sakura cursed and sent a glare at the Jinchuriki for ruining the moment.

"You two! Cut it out!" the Jinchuriki called, both hands pulling at his hair tightly. "Ah—what the hell do I do?!"

The Uchiha transported himself behind Sai. "We're done here," he said as he plunged his sword into his victim's chest.

"No—Sai! Someone help!" the Jinchuriki dashed forward to catch his mortally wounded teammate, who by this point gushed a sticky fluid which oozed out of the torn fabric at his chest. "Sasuke… what have you done?!"

Well then. Not the exact ending Sakura hoped for, but she'd take it—at least she had one less Konoha shinobi to worry about.

The Uchiha brat stood with no expression. "It's a clone."

A _what_?

Sai's body began to melt, and within a few seconds a puddle of black ink lay where he once was.

The Uchiha's eyes wandered in all directions until they landed on Sakura for the first time since they were attacked. Then she suddenly felt a little self conscious, wondering if she should do something to cover herself because through the intense gaze of his Sharingan he had the ability to see _everything_ —like... _everything._

_Wait—_

She shook the dirty thought. Where'd _that_ come from?

"Sakura-sensei!" she heard her Genin yell. "Behind you!"

She felt a shadow breeze by her. It was Sai.

It looked like she was next.

But instead of aiming for her like he thought she would, Sai leapt over her shoulder and lunged at the Uchiha brat again, full throttle.

Sai! Stop attacking Sasuke!" she heard the Jinchuriki yell.

"Chidori Nagashi!"

Sakura jumped backwards to avoid the explosion of current. Sai was thrown backwards, static electricity sparking over his body. He landed with a thud on the ground, grimacing from the pain.

Sakura looked back at the Genin. Their bodies were tense, like they wanted to help or see if she was okay. They, like the Jinchuriki, were probably at a loss of what to do or who to help. The situation didn't make clear who was in need of greater help. Or, in her mind, which one she preferred to die first.

"I'll be okay. Stay back," she said to them. It would just be troublesome if they got involved.

"Sasuke! Watch out!" the Jinchuriki warned.

Sakura missed what happened. By the time she looked back at the brawling men, they were leaning into each other, face to face, both their hands occupied with one sword and the other's wrist.

"Was that… the _correct_ defense, Sasuke-kun?" Sai asked. His tone sounded mocking, but she couldn't be sure.

The Uchiha brat narrowed his eyebrows. "What's your _problem_?"

Sakura could make out purple and blue veins in their forearms as they both struggled to hold the stance. They were well-matched, at an impasse, each equally struggling to hold the stance.

Naruto and Konohamaru appeared behind each of the two, restraining both comrades with their arms looped underneath their armpits.

"That's enough, you guys."

"Sai. Explain yourself," the younger one commanded.

Both of the men were released from their friends' grips.

Sai met the rest of the team's expressions with cluelessness."I feel much closer to Sasuke now. To make friends quickly with someone who is quite different from you, one must break their ice." He wore a smile like it was a beard he'd spent months trying to grow, cheerful and proud.

Sakura now realized that it wasn't a real assassination attempt, and that meant the fun was officially over.

Everyone else blinked in confusion.

"Break _their_ ice?" the Jinchuriki asked.

Sai thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No—break _the_ ice. That's the right phrase," he said with a thumbs up.

"By _attacking_ me _?"_ The Uchiha brat looked like he wanted to hook and jab the pale one in the face.

"It is said that the line between attacking and roughhousing can be quite nonexistent."

"And your objective was to _befriend_ me?"

"Yes," Sai said, matter-of-fact. "Couldn't you tell? I took great care into my preparations for it."

The Jinchuriki's head dropped. "No, I think you took it a little far…"

"Come to think of it," Sai said as he put a hand on his chin, "my actions would not have been much different if I was trying to kill somebody, I suppose."

The Jinchuriki smacked his own forehead.

"Perhaps I will find another way to move you," Sai said to the Uchiha brat.

"Huh? Move?" asked Konohamaru.

Sai nodded. "Move. To evoke an emotional effect; to touch one's heart by words or action."

Sakura sighed. Sai memorized that definition from a textbook a long time ago, which is why he recited it so awkwardly. For a period of time, Sai's whole thing was going around town "moving" all their colleagues.

"Sakura, you recall being moved by me a number of times, right?" Sai took a step forward, reaching to ruffle the hair on her head.

The Uchiha visibly tensed.

Noticing this too, Sai withdrew his arm and met the glare of swirling Sharingan eyes.

"Do you not like it when I touch Sakura?"

She saw Konohamaru stifle a laugh, and cringed. Why did Sai have to make things so awkward?

The Uchiha brat diverted his eyes elsewhere. "Matters like that are not my business," he replied.

Sai blinked, clearly confused.

Sakura refrained from saying or doing even one thing for fear that it would only call more attention to the mortifying moment. _Please don't say anything else,_ she begged Sai silently.

"Could this be one of those moments where we say the opposite of how we feel?" he asked.

The man couldn't read a fucking room.

"Sai, I said not to follow those books!" the Jinchuriki exclaimed, exasperated.

"I made a special exception," Sai replied, nodding between the blonde and raven-haired man as he formed a hand sign. "This learning experience will definitely go into my notebook. I hope to form bonds with you soon, Sasuke."

The Uchiha only stared back.

"Wait Sai! Where are you—"

_Poof._

He was gone.

"It's okay, everything's fine!" the Jinchuriki shouted loudly, with a panicked tone, as he waved his hands so that the kids could be put at ease. "Sai did the same thing to me when we first met!"

The Genin brats cautiously cast one more glance at Sakura before resuming their training.

"That was… _odd_..." Konohamaru said to no one in particular. "He keeps a notebook for this kind of stuff? And why did it seem like he was trying to kill Sasuke more than anything else?"

"Who knows with that guy," the Jinchuriki said.

Sakura took a mental note that the pale one appeared to be more involved with the Team 7 situation than she previously thought—she'd have to be careful. He was a complete wildcard because he was so hard to read.

"Your team is just, _so_ weird _,"_ Konohamaru said, this time directly to the Jinchuriki.

The blonde groaned, then held a hand up as if now _he_ was the one with the headache. "I know—just… don't."

* * *

"Okay!" Oishi leaped up from where he laid with one finger pointed up in the air. "I'll get it the next time," he announced.

When he stood, his body wavered. His eyelids fluttered.

Shit—

Sakura rushed forward, but by then it was already too late. The Uchiha had appeared in front of Oishi, allowing the kid to collapse forward over his shoulder. Curse his reflexes—he was faster than her every _damn_ time.

Sakura saw the Jinchuriki slump his shoulders forward, sulking. His Genin was out of chakra and exhausted, which meant he lost the competition.

"Can you still keep going?" Tone asked Mirai.

She shook her head. "Probably not. I'm tired. What about you?

"I feel..." Tone began, glancing at Sakura. "I feel... _great_ ," he marveled, as if he was surprised at his own triumph.

"It's an important lesson. Eventually, standing on water will become just a reflex."

"Thank you, Sakura-sensei. We'll continue working on it tomorrow by ourselves," Mirai said.

"Anyways, let's get Oishi home," Tone said.

"I'll help. It's in the direction I'm headed."

Sakura saw Mirai blush at the fact that her crush just volunteered to take them home, and rolled her eyes. So he was being manipulative now—using cheap tricks on kids to win back the village?

The Uchiha brat met her eyes with an expression she didn't recognize.

Great. _Now_ what was he looking at? He might be able to get reactions out of little twelve year olds, but not her. Not today. In fact, if Sakura could help it, not _ever._

 _Don't fucking blush. Whatever it takes, don't fucking blush,_ she told herself repeatedly.

"Mister—we don't need help," Tone began to protest.

"Shut _up_ Tone," Mirai said. "We totally do."

Tone looked between his blushing teammate and the Uchiha brat again, eyes narrowed. When he realized that he'd have to fight Mirai over it, he gave up, and with a reluctant sigh, allowed the man to piggyback Oishi.

"Well, that was fun while it lasted", the Jinchuriki said as he saluted their departing teammate. "I'm surprised Sasuke offered to take them home. That bastard has come a long way."

It was still mid-afternoon when they finished, and the sun was barely coming down from its highest point in the clear sky.

"Want me to walk you home?" he asked.

Just then, something in the back of Sakura's mind nagged her to remember something—a fleeting inkling that she had a point to make or was supposed to mention something.

"Sure," she replied. Hopefully she'd remember it along the way. It would just bother her otherwise.

His face lit up at her response. He'd been awfully easy to please lately.

Like always, they started the walk home in silence.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last.

"You know, I've been trying some new ramen recipes in between my missions..."

Of all things.

"There's just the one part of the broth that I can't figure out. It's supposed to be a mixture of pork bones with chicken, but it's just not thickening enough."

Sakura nodded along, trying to seem interested.

"I'm afraid to let it simmer too long, it'll taste old. But maybe that's why it's so thin? It needs to be simmered longer? How does old man Ichiraku do it? He makes it perfectly every time..."

 _Oh my god,_ she thought. _He's going to talk the entire way isn't he?_

"I can't put my finger on it. Sakura, maybe you could try it. In fact, how about tonight—"

Finger. Hinata and her annoying fingers.

"Naruto," Sakura cut him off. "I have something to ask you. It's about a date."

He snapped out of his monologue and looked at her with what looked like his utmost focus. "A date?"

She couldn't believe that she was troubling herself with this, but it would get Hinata and Ino off her back for good. "You and Hinata. How about tonight?"

He blinked.

"Oh… "

_Oh?_

What kind of an answer was that?

"Hinata likes you," Sakura said.

"Yeah, I know…"

" _Well?_ "

"It's just… "

Hyuga royalty was throwing itself at the nameless Jinchuriki and yet he had to _think_ about it? Was he blind? In what world would any guy hesitate to go out with _that_? Sakura wanted to shake the man. He had only a few weeks to live!

"I've got… _things_ I need to do," he said slowly.

" _Things?_ "

He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Weren't you just telling me that you wanted to cook ramen tonight? Why don't you ask Hinata to come over? It's perfect," Sakura pressed.

He dropped his head and stared at the ground as they continued to walk. Sakura could see thoughts swirling in his bright blue eyes as he tried to formulate a response. "To be frank… she kind of weirds me out," he said quietly.

It was Sakura's turn to blink.

"I mean—don't get me wrong, she's beautiful, and has a good heart too…" he said carefully. "It's just. I can't really talk to her because she gets so nervous, and we have nothing in common. It's awkward."

Sakura was about to chastise him, but stopped to think. He had a point. Even when Hinata just _talked_ about him, she fainted.

"I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings…" he continued.

She watched him stare at the ground and realized that he actually seemed pretty saddened by the fact that he would have to disappoint someone. But what was she supposed to tell the woman now? 'He said _no?_ ' She would probably be humiliated and explode into a billion particles, and Sakura would have to clean up the mess. He should just tell her himself.

"Have you ever told her? She deserves an answer."

"No—how can I? I can barely say hello. We don't talk," he said. "Why does she even like me so much?"

 _Oy vey._ Sakura felt her second headache of the day coming.

"Okay, okay. I'll let her know you're not available for a date," she said begrudgingly. "But you better tell her if she tries to talk to you."

If the Hyuuga woman wanted to know why, Sakura would tell her to ask the blonde herself. She didn't need to be the middleman on this.

The two of them got quiet again, letting their footsteps fill the awkward silence.

"Sakura—how about it? Do you want to come over for ramen later?"

She inwardly groaned.

"I can't—"

"Oh come on. Please? It'll be _our_ date," he said, laughing and sticking his tongue at her.

"Naruto!"

"Ow! Sakura!"

* * *

**To be continued...**


	11. Practice Makes Perfect

" _It's already lunch and none of you have a bell yet," Kakashi said._

_Not that they were supposed to be able to get one—that wasn't the real test._

" _Well, I'll give you another chance. If you accept, eat your lunch and we'll continue after. Don't let Naruto have any." His shadow towered over them, giving his intimidation tactic a good effect. "I am the law here. Understand?"_

_The two academy graduates nodded meekly as they sat on both sides of the log with Naruto strapped to it._

" _Good."_

_Kakashi acted like he left them to grab his own lunch._

_He'd purposefully subjugated them. Like all the previous academy graduates sent to him, they'd follow the rules and be sent back. It was only a matter of time._

_He hid behind the trees and watched._

_Naruto looked starved and miserable. He watched Sakura and Sasuke as they looked at their bentos, probably also starving. Sakura reached to pick up her fork and prepared to take a bite._

_Kakashi sighed._

_He was about to step out and break the news that they'd failed when—_

" _Naruto, here." Sakura held out her bento. "Don't thank me, just hurry up and eat. I'm on a diet… I mean—I just eat less than Sasuke."_

" _Hurry up," Sasuke whispered as his eyes scanned the field. "We don't know when he'll be back."_

_Kakashi thought of Obito as he watched his new Genin team break all the rules._

* * *

_Yes. Yes._ _Yes._

One million times, _yes._

"You're sure you're up for leading...?" the Princess asked Sakura with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, shishou. Iwa is farther than most missions call for, but I'm well rested and can handle it."

Just as smooth as she'd practiced—not too eager, guided by logic.

"Jiraiya is leaving for Ame in three days. We hoped to deploy his and Team 7's mission concurrently."

Sakura nodded energetically. It would be even better if the Legendary Sannin was out of her hair.

Finally, the _perfect_ mission had arrived, after many weeks of slow, grueling busywork. It was so perfect that Akatsuki could probably take the Jinchuriki in as little as three days. Sakura would need to tell Itachi to make preparations.

"I was originally planning to send Kakashi or Yamato to lead Team 7 in a four-man squad instead of three. I still think it could be a good idea, if Shikamaru finds evidence that Iwa is working against us..."

 _No. Please,_ she thought. Either of those two Jonin in particular would be the _worst_ for Akatsuki to deal with. She needed to get the Jinchuriki alone or as alone as possible.

"Shishou, I am skilled and experienced enough—"

"Tch! It's not that, Sakura," the Princess interrupted.

Based on the irritated expression on the older woman's face, Sakura had to tread carefully.

"This time it's different. Sasuke is still unpredictable—we don't know what he's capable of."

Ah, yes. The Uchiha brat. The thorn at her side, ruining her life even when he _wasn't_ around.

"But on the other hand... I guess testing Sasuke is now or never. The village needs this to be done and it's not like we'll ever find a better time to test him," the Princess continued.

It was smarter to just shut up and let the woman talk herself into it. Without so much as another peep, Sakura waited in front of the Hokage's desk, trying to stop her fingers and toes from fidgeting as the older woman debated with herself outloud.

"Okay. I've decided to move forward with the original plan."

Original plan?

"You are approved to lead Sasuke and Naruto to Iwa on the condition that everyone passes the evaluation. Kakashi! Get in here!"

Sakura heard a muffled voice behind the door and jumped—she hadn't even sensed him. Damn it, she was getting soft.

"Yes, yes, I'm here." he said, poking his head into the room before stalking in casually. He threw up another one of his greetings as he bookmarked a page in his book and put it in his back pocket.

"Evaluation?" Sakura asked out loud.

Tsunade nodded to Kakashi, turning their attention to him.

"Well Sakura, let's just say that if you want a chance to lead Team 7… you'll want to keep your bell."

* * *

The Jinchuriki kept his hands in his jacket pockets as he scuffed his sandals against a patch of dirt. "What do you think it'll be, Sasuke? A test of strength? Speed? Taijutsu? Or maybe a competition to see who's jutsu is the coolest?"

The Uchiha brat leaned on the wooden stump next to him.

The early morning air was getting chiller and chiller, pulling the Fire Country through mid-fall and towards a cold winter. Sakura had to make sure they passed the test today if it was the last thing she did. Leader's deadline was fast-approaching, and the darkening weather only served as a stark reminder that she'd been slacking.

"Yo!" the Copy Ninja said as he appeared in a puff of smoke, his hand in the air apologetically.

"Don't act so casual! You're more than thirty minutes late," accused the Jinchuriki, pointing his finger.

"Well you see..." the man began, "I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life."

"That's not going to work! I don't think you're cool anymore!"

Sakura heard the Copy Ninja mutter something resembling self-pitying as his head dropped. 

"Kakashi," Uchiha brat interrupted. "What's the exercise for today?"

"Sasuke, always so impatient," the man chided. "You three are being asked to go on a mission. But I have to make sure you're all prepared."

The three of them lined up as they eyed him thoughtfully.

"This time it's totally different," he said holding up four bells. "Everyone gets one of these. Sakura and Sasuke will have red. Naruto and I will have green. The first team to get one bell of the opposite color wins."

Naturally, Sakura was being paired with her _least_ favorite. Wait a minute—two versus two?

"How will you judge if we will pass as Team 7? The three of us are not on the same team," she asked, not sure what her best play was.

"I knew you'd be the one to ask," replied her former sensei. "That's for me to know," he said with a wink, smiling under his mask.

It looked like she wouldn't be able to hack her way to victory, then. Sakura positioned herself next to the Uchiha brat, watching both of her opponents carefully.

"Sasuke, you can bet that I'm going for you," said the blonde from the opposite side.

"If you think you can keep up."

"Begin!"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The Jinchuriki multiplied himself into four copies, each of which threw diversionary kunai. The Copy Ninja transported himself behind them, forcing Sakura and the Uchiha brat into a vulnerable position sandwiched between opponents.

Sakura hit the ground with her fist. The ground shook as large rocks and frenzied bits flew through the air.

The Uchiha brat covered her, blocking the incoming kunai with his own. She watched him pull a bundle of wire string from his pouch. He put it between his teeth and yanked, sending a high-pitched squeaking noise as the wire was held taut.

More shuriken flew at them. Her teammate cocked his head to the side just as one breezed past, and Sakura caught it mid-air behind him. She sent it flying back to the Jinchuriki as the Uchiha brat bound the wire strings to his own shuriken, throwing all of them at once.

The Jinchuriki dodged the projectiles but was not so lucky with the wire strings. By the time he even noticed, it was too late.

The Uchiha brat pulled.

"Ah! Damn it!" Their blonde colleague fell onto the grass, squirming with his arms bound to his sides.

Her partner pulled on the wire string harder, dragging the Jinchuriki forward. "Katon: Taika no Jutsu!"

The Copy Ninja dashed towards them. "Naruto! _How_ did that work on you?!" the older man shouted in disbelief, sending his own water release technique just in time to block the incoming flames.

"I don't know!" the blonde cried. "Just untangle me!"

Sakura sent the last of her kunai flying. Her coordinated attack with the Uchiha brat forced the green team backwards to a defensive stance.

After a moment of collection, the Jinchuriki came running towards them, colliding with his rival kunai to kunai. When the Uchiha's was forced from his grip, they began to throw taijutsu combos. Signs of competitiveness took over.

She wouldn't have to worry about the Jinchuriki anytime soon. That left just one opponent—

Sakura jumped out of the way, ducking the Copy Ninja's opportunist swing at her blind spot just in time. When she whipped around, all she saw were trees and an empty clearing.

The sky went dark. She jerked her head upwards, where he came down with full force. She narrowly rolled out of the way as his foot crashed into the ground.

Needing to create some distance between them, Sakura gathered a small amount of chakra into her foot for a roundhouse kick, hitting him in the arm and throwing him sideways. But she was shocked to feel that his arm felt like a rock. The next second later, a puff of smoke revealed a replacement jutsu.

The oldest trick in the book.

_Above?_

Not this time, as she only saw the open sky above her.

_Behind?_

She scanned the perimeter, but he was nowhere to be found.

In the distance, she heard what must've been one hundred copies of the Jinchuriki taking their shots at the Uchiha brat, who used Chidori Senbon to eliminate tens all at once. Unlike when they were little, where she would've heard the Jinchuriki's helpless screams after walking into obvious traps set by their sensei, Sakura's standoff with the older shinobi was quiet. And long.

Then she heard it—water. Lots of it.

"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu!"

An aqua-born head surged at her from behind the trees, scaring her shitless as it swirled into its full-bodied formation of a giant shark.

The wide-open jaws of her predator closed in on her with each jagged tooth the size of her hand, and she was thankful that she'd seen Kisame's jutsu before otherwise she wouldn't know what to expect.

It wouldn't go away unless she either forced the Copy Ninja to break concentration or until she blasted the thing into a useless puddle.

The Copy Ninja was nowhere to be seen, but he had to be close. She'd have to dance with the shark until then.

With a long and powerful swoop, the shark caved in to where Sakura stood. She didn't move, instead waiting an extra second as if she'd been caught off guard. It took the bait, and at the last minute she disappeared and gave it a good chunk of air.

As the shark pivoted to her new location, a shadow moved behind the trees in the distance.

_There!_

She dashed to the part of the forest where she now knew the Copy Ninja was controlling the shark from.

Channeling chakra to her arms, she wrapped both of her arms around the tree by her side and uprooted its entire 30-foot trunk. With as much speed as she could, she swung it like a bat until it collided into the shark, sending an explosion of water droplets into a pool of water on the grass.

Next would be the Copy Ninja.

Certain of herself, she lifted the trunk again until it was almost perpendicular to the ground and, using all of her strength and the momentum of its weight, prepared to slam it into the section of trees where the Copy Ninja hid.

Mid-swing, her confidence waned.

The Copy Ninja appeared in front of her eyes with a grin under his mask, sporting a look that said he got her good.

She wouldn't have enough time to empty her arms and dodge him at the same time. As the tree hit the ground, she grimaced with her eyes closed, waiting to feel a blow.

She could kiss her bell goodbye.

She felt a gust of cold wind as the air around her went into a flurry, sending the strands of her short hair into a hurricane.

…

A moment later, still, she didn't feel the bell being taken from her.

Warm hands wrapped around her waist and something pressed against her back.

"How many times am I going to catch you off guard…?" a low voice murmured so close that she could feel hot breath on her ear.

That wasn't the Copy Ninja.

It was _him_ _._

A shiver rippled down her spine. A flutter in her stomach—

_Fuck. This._

"Shannaro!"

Sakura whirled around and angrily sent a kick into the air, determined to shatter the body of the man behind her. She'd put up with him for weeks and she was fucking _done._

The Uchiha brat only gave a light chuckle as he backed off, if ever such a thing as a chuckling Uchiha existed. 

"Is that a 'thank you' for saving your bell?" he asked as he dodged another one of her kicks. She heard his bell by his waistband, indicating that at least both of them still had them.

"Shut. Up!" she grunted and continued to throw punches, closing in on him without holding back.

The fact that he could take her attacks so lightly without Sharingan made her even more angry. She punched harder, not caring that she was getting out of breath.

"You look upset," he said as he continued to duck and dodge.

She threw another punch that went past his head, but this time he made a fatal mistake when he caught her forearm.

She smirked as he winced. He probably caught the tail end of her chakra, which most likely sent a crack in a bone in his hand even if it wasn't as direct as catching a punch.

"That hurts," he said as he glared at her through a tense jaw.

"Then maybe you should _let go_ ," she retorted, emphasizing the last two words.

His eyebrows furrowed and created a wrinkle on his _stupidly_ perfect-clear forehead.

"What's your problem?" he said, not letting go. "Why're you fighting me?"

"Because you piss me off."

The man in front of her was a far cry from the adorable bug-eyed and chubby-cheeked protégée that sent academy girls swooning. Whatever she felt for him when they were Genin, she'd never understand about herself—she couldn't stand him now.

Sakura realized that next to the spot on her forearm where he was gripping her, the Uchiha brat was holding a second bell—green. He must have gotten it from Naruto. Did that mean they won?

"I was trying to _help_ you," he said.

She tried to shake his grip off her but he held it still stubbornly. "You've been uncharacteristically _friendly_ these days," she said bitterly.

"You never had a problem with it until now. Is it because I make you uncomfortable?" His lip tugged upwards lightly, and it was clear that he wanted her to admit that he did.

Not going to happen.

"Like hell," Sakura bit back.

"Oi! Sakura! Wrong person!"

When she looked in the direction of the voice, she realized that they were far from their original spot, now positioned across the stream where she last fought the Copy Ninja's water jutsu. She'd been transported involuntarily, courtesy of the asshole in front of her.

Seething while the Copy Ninja and Jinchuriki jumped and headed in their direction, she sent him one last glare.

"Don't touch me again," she hissed as she snatched her arm away from him.

"I won't have to if you pay more attention to your surroundings."

"I handle myself just _fine."_

He looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "You almost lost your bell."

"Mind your own fucking business," Sakura snapped. "I never asked for you to butt in."

Any semblance of amusement left his face. "What is _up_ with you, Sakura? Is it so hard to say a simple thank you?"

"I'm not fucking _thanking_ you. I wish you never came back to Konoha. _That's_ what's _up_ with me."

He was taken aback. A look of hurt betrayed his eyes, but then his face hardened and he clenched his fists. "Fine, then. Next time I'll just let you get _fucked_."

That was it. She could care less if she killed him now.

She hurled herself forward and tackled. They fell onto the floor with her straddling him, and she collected chakra at her knees to anchor herself at his sides so that he couldn't escape from under her. She collected all the strength she could muster in one arm and punched.

Black hair swished sideways as her fist came down, and she felt hard earth against her knuckles. The force of the impact created a crater that sent the both of them lower into the earth.

She punched again and cursed when the Uchiha brat jerked his head to the other side.

"Why're you acting like such a _bitch_?!" he shouted from underneath her.

Third time's the charm.

As her fist came down again, the world was suddenly flipped upside-down as she felt herself being thrown over his head.

Sakura reached one hand up to find the ground while she was still in the air, and managed to push off just in time to land on her feet. But as soon as she did, the breath was knocked out of her lungs as she felt the full weight of his body crashing into her, the back of her head hitting the ground as they fell.

He was on top now, with his hands pinning her shoulders.

He looked pissed for real. But so was she.

"Fuck you, Sasuke. Get off of me."

"Apologize. Now."

She laughed darkly. "What for? That's how I feel."

The look on his face told her that she had him. He couldn't tell her not to feel a certain way, and he didn't know what to do about it.

She couldn't stop herself from adding fuel to the fire, the next words spilling from her mouth. "You only came back because you're a failure," she spat. "You couldn't even manage to kill your broth–"

She stopped herself.

That was too far.

At first, his eyes only locked onto her, capturing everything from the top of her matted hair to every rise and fall of her chest. Then, as if the words began to sink in, as his mind came to a full comprehension and what she'd just said, his eyes flashed blood, killing intent rising with the intensity of the red.

He stared and stared and _stared,_ like he was about to snap at any second.

Sakura writhed, feeling uncomfortable familiarity at the memory of the last time she was pinned underneath a teammate in such a vulnerable position. 

Genuine fear of what he'd do next and anxiousness assembled within her.

She'd have to do something first or she'd be dead meat. With her shoulders still pinned, she stretched a couple fingers around one of his wrists—the angle was too awkward to get a full grasp.

She clamped down with her fingertips.

The Uchiha brat swore when she pushed on the fracture he received earlier.

The pressure on her shoulders disappeared.

"Now I'm in a _real_ fucking bad mood." 

His fist came falling down.

Sakura thrashed her legs in a panic knowing he had _every_ intention to make her pay. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Sasuke! Stop!"

Hands shot out from nowhere.

The Copy Ninja and Jinchuriki came to her rescue, pulling the Uchiha brat off of her at the last moment.

"You two are supposed to be a team," the Copy Ninja said sternly.

"Tell that to _her,"_ he said as he shoved them off of him.

"It doesn't matter, Sasuke. In the end we had to pull _you_ off."

"I _saved_ her and she…"

He looked up at the Copy Ninja, who looked a bit disappointed. He sent Sakura a last glare before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Forget it. I shouldn't have done that," he muttered as he stormed off.

"Sasuke—" The Jinchuriki ran after him, looking defeated. Blood was splattered all over the front of his shirt and his nose looked broken, _and_ he was missing a bell, but that didn't seem to bother him.

"Sakura, are you okay?" The Copy Ninja asked.

Was she? The Uchiha brat hadn't done any lasting damage, and she wasn't in a comatose state, so… she guessed she had to be okay.

All she could do was nod.

Her team had won, like the Copy Ninja advised.

"I'm sorry Sakura, but I'll leave Sasuke to Naruto. I have to report to Hokage-sama right away," the Copy Ninja said. He hesitated for a second, his eyes flickering to the bell still fastened at her waist before he disappeared.

She couldn't waste time now.

She still had her bell. And the Uchiha brat did too. Not only that—they had gotten a green bell.

That meant despite whatever happened, the mission was on.

* * *

_Itachi,_

_It's time. Meet us on the border of Fire Country near Iwa in three days. I will be accompanied by the Jinchuriki and your brother._

_The exact time and location is forthcoming. Stay alert._

_-Sakura_

Again, the words disappeared as she wrote them. A drop of water fell from her hair onto the blank paper and Sakura quickly wiped it away with her hand so that it wouldn't the nice paper wouldn't crinkle when it dried.

That was a wrap. Now, she just had to lead the Jinchuriki into the ambush.

She stood in her towel, freshly showered, lotioned, and with her chest wrapped in new bandages.

She hadn't received official word yet from the Hokage, but it was probably just a matter of paperwork and bureaucracy with the Uchiha brat. They'd leave the day before Jiraiya, in two days.

Not only would this mission bring the new world to all shinobi, but it was also the beginning of a new life for Sakura.

She walked over to her wall and took out the photograph of her parents, sliding it carefully inside her bingo book so that it would stay crisp.

Sakura would probably never return to this miserable place.

There was no need to pack much—just enough for one night or maybe two, until she returned to Akatsuki's base. She collected one extra set of her sleeveless red mini dress with spandex shorts just in case. She'd wear her knee-high boots, which would leave her thighs exposed, but she had her white winter cloak to shield her from the biting cold no matter what land she'd travel.

She ran to her bathroom for the essentials and then to the bare kitchen to concoct a last-minute herbs and supplements kit with some dried packaged food. She also remembered to pad her side pouch with the rest of her money hidden inside her empty refrigerator.

Just then, she heard a knock at the door.

She hadn't felt any chakra. Was it the Copy Ninja?

She hesitantly opened the door, only to see that a box had been placed on the doorstep with a small note attached to the top.

It had the Hyuga emblem on it.

_Sakura-chan:_

_I hope you accept this gift—it was custom woven._

_Made from the silk of chakra worms, it is designed to be sturdy yet light. It keeps you cool in the desert and warms you in the snow. Hyugas wear it on missions._

_I gave one to Ino too. Hope you like it!_

_\- Hinata_

It was for helping Hinata with her love troubles, probably. Sakura hadn't exactly earned the gift yet, since she never exactly told Hinata about what the Jinchuriki said, but who was she to refuse?

Sakura tossed the note aside and brought the box onto the kitchen table, unwrapping the tissue paper without care.

As she lifted it from the box, the fabric shimmered under her bedroom light. The color was a sophisticated deep purple like Hinata's hair, and the fabric itself was woven intricately, embroidered with soft lace.

It was some form of undergarment.

Even without all the chakra properties that the note described, it would've cost a fortune. Not that Hyuga royalty couldn't afford it. Throwing it over her head, Sakura stuck her arms through the straps and pulled it down over her figure.

So this is what kept Hinata so warm that night.

The silk felt airy and didn't hinder her movements. It kind of felt like the spandex of her shorts, yet the thin fabric kept her warm in her chilly apartment. This thing was so useful she couldn't believe she'd never heard of something like it before. Sakura decided she'd wear it to sleep that night—she was _that_ impressed.

She walked over to her bedroom mirror and blushed at the site—it conformed to her figure, highlighting her strong shoulders and narrow waist like an hourglass. It was low cut in the front and delicately hung from her shoulders with tiny noodle-like straps. She shuddered at what Hidan would do if he saw her wearing it. Since she was safe from that creep for now, she decided her old baggy t-shirts could get an extended rest in her drawer.

This thing was definitely coming along with her.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm working on it, fuck!"

Why was it up to Hidan to remember these things? He was in the middle of a ritual, and now all the blood dripping from his shoulder was going to waste. He'd have to ask Jiashin for forgiveness later.

"Leader's telling us the code now!"

They had to pick up some slack because Itachi was busy with _that_ bitch, but Kisame should get off his ass.

"It's 49816—"

"Hold on ya fuckin' prick! I'm not ready yet!"

"You better hurry up if you want to keep your legs!"

"Yeah—just try me, Fishface!"

Where was a damn piece of paper in this house? Hidan wandered into the first bedroom on his right and something on the desk caught his eye. He unraveled it, realizing that it was blank.

Perfect.

Now all he needed was a pen.

"8179L—"

"Fuck! I said _wait_!"

Forget it. He'd just have to use blood.

"Alright what was it again?!" Hidan called loudly to Kisame. "458—"

"No, idiot! 498—"

"Who're you calling an idiot, asshole?! Just gimme the damn code again!"

Hidan smirked. Whatever Kisame intended to use the scroll for, he'd be in for a nasty surprise.

* * *

It was a perfect day to enjoy the peaceful movement of the clouds and the silence of nature as he'd learned from Shikamaru many years ago.

Too bad Naruto couldn't.

"Sasuke," he called. "Sasuke—seriously. Just wait up!"

Somehow, things were going downhill fast.

The first thing was a few weeks ago, when Naruto ran into Sasuke on the street.

The woman with her two children—she had those judging eyes. The same ones that haunted him as a kid, when everybody treated him like a nuisance. Like he wasn't human. She spat unkind words to Sasuke and walked away. It was all too familiar.

Naruto's blood boiled. He acted like he hadn't seen, but he did.

Both of them were crippled with loneliness growing up. Much of Sasuke's decisions stemmed from a frantic need to run away from that feeling of pain. Underneath his façade, Sasuke had a bleeding heart like no other.

And now there was this.

When Sasuke finally stopped walking, Naruto was out of breath.

"This must mean that I'm your favorite teammate now," he joked.

Sasuke tensed.

Naruto tried to be lighthearted so that it wouldn't get uncomfortable. Now he could see that it was unappreciated.

A while later, Sasuke still didn't say anything, so Naruto pressed on.

"What was the fight about?"

"Nothing. She's just annoying."

It was definitely more complicated than a case of 'Sakura's annoying'—it looked like they were trying to kill each other. But Naruto decided not to pry. "Just like old times, huh?" he asked.

Sasuke chuckled darkly, but didn't say much else.

Naruto knew he was holding something back. "You don't have to worry about it. She still loves you, you know," he added. "Kakashi too. We all do. Just give them some time and we'll be a family again."

"I've made many mistakes," Sasuke started with a sigh.

Well that was surprising. It seemed like he was feeling relatively open to talk today.

"But you came back on your own," Naruto said in encouragement.

"So? We were only a Genin team for a few months before I..." his voice trailed off at the end before he could finish the sentence.

He didn't have to. Naruto understood. "It doesn't matter," he said. "We'd been through so many things together either way. Whatever Sakura said to you—she's just not feeling like herself."

"Right…"

"Team 7 is going to hunt Akatsuki so you can find Itachi. And by the time I'm Hokage, the entire village will accept you as they've learned to accept me. That's a promise. Bastard, you'd better believe it. I don't break my promises."

Naruto nudged Sasuke with his elbow.

"We're brothers. Got it?"

When Sasuke didn't respond, Naruto nudged him again, harder.

" _Got it?"_

His friend nodded.

"I have to say though, you can't be so moody all the time."

And _that_ was the beginning of the lecture he'd been dying to give.

"People need to see the real you. You can't expect them to know things you've never told them. Have you ever said sorry to Sakura and Kakashi? Don't be so prideful. And it wouldn't kill you to say thank you once in a while. I know you're really not that cold."

…

"Okay, Sasuke?"

...

Naruto sighed when he got no response.

"Next time you see Sakura, just try to apologize."

Of course it would take a little more than a pep talk for the always-stoic, always-cool Uchiha to open up.

He would get there one day. At least he was given a chance to voice his opinion today. That's farther than he'd ever gotten before.

More importantly, what was that smell? An aroma of grilled onion and garlic drifted towards them from an unknown location, but Naruto could already feel his mouth watering. "Alright that's enough for the day. Let's head home. I'm starving."

Naruto pushed himself off the dirt and stood up with a jump, feeling like a new man after taking that much needed break.

Sasuke followed suit, dusting off his pants as he began walking. "You talk a lot, dobe."

Naruto shot him a glare. "I was only trying to help, ass wipe _."_

Even Sai would have gotten _something_ out of it. Sasuke was just a hopeless jerk.

For once, Naruto decided that he'd talked enough for the day, and instead joined Sasuke on their walk back to their apartments, wordlessly.

"Thank you," Sasuke said abruptly.

Aha! So he did get through to the man. And now they were in need of some comic relief, otherwise things would get awkward.

"Huh? What was that? I didn't hear you," Naruto teased.

"Idiot—I said you were an idiot," Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto couldn't hold back his laugh.

"Mark the day Sasuke said _thank you!_ Ha!"

* * *

"What of it, Kakashi?" Tsunade said as he and Jiraiya followed her into the office.

A fresh stack of paperwork rested on her desk. Without casting a glance in its direction, she shoved it aside and used it as a coaster for her early afternoon tea. Jiraiya sighed at the sight.

"What happened out there?" she asked.

"Well… that's a little more complicated," he said scratching his head.

What exactly had he seen?

Everything was going according to plan until Sakura attacked Sasuke… but was that a smile he saw on the young man's face at first? Was it _because_ she attacked him? And then not too long afterwards, he was pulling Sasuke off...

"Complicated?" asked Tsunade with a raised eyebrow.

He didn't know what to make of it.

"It seems that Sasuke is different now..." he said slowly. "He normally would've been too consumed by his competition with Naruto to care about anything else, but he _did_ come to Sakura's aid when she needed it."

"So then what's the problem?" asked Jiraiya. "Wasn't the entire point of the test to see if Sasuke would aid his teammate? Based on the requirements, it seems they passed; we can send them to Iwa."

"But then Sakura provoked Sasuke, and he attacked her afterwards. It would've been ugly if I hadn't stepped in," Kakashi replied.

"It's that temper and monstrous strength…" Jiraiya muttered.

Tsunade shot her teammate a look of death and he straightened up.

"I would expect something like this from Naruto and Sasuke when they were twelve, not Sakura and Sasuke now. Sarutobi-sensei sure knew how to pick teams," chuckled Jiraiya.

Kakashi shook his head. It was _much_ more serious than the Sannin was making it seem.

"Kakashi—that's only a small piece of the bigger picture. Jiraiya has news to report," Tsunade said.

"My source confirms Akatsuki movements in Amegakure," Jiraiya revealed. "I will be leaving in three days."

He'd overheard, but didn't know it was related to the S-class organization.

"That's a dangerous mission," said Kakashi. "With all due respect, you shouldn't go by yourself."

"I've done many in my day, boy," said Jiraiya as he grinned. It was hard for Kakashi to not notice the likeness of Naruto in the hermit's expression. "And it's just a little recon."

"As I was saying… many of our Jonin team are busy," Tsunade began. "I plan to send a team within two days."

Kakashi knew that look. He remembered what happened when Minato-sensei had entrusted him to lead a three-man squad—Obito and Rin perished. They weren't ready.

"Hokage-sama, you can't."

Tsunade looked grim. "Someone has to go to Iwa."

"There's too much emotional baggage to sort out, and that makes them unstable in the field," he tried to say. "Not to mention, Sasuke is still unpredictable and it seems like Sakura has forgotten her teamwork skills."

Tsunade looked at him with an unreadable expression.

"Send someone else. If they ever want to leave the village, Sakura and Sasuke have to prove that they can repair their broken friendship."

She held up her hand to stop him.

He could say no more, as he was outranked.

It was up to the Hokage to make a decision on this.

He just prayed to god that his first and only Genin team wouldn't end up dead because of it.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	12. Failure to Launch

"But—we _passed,"_ Sakura pleaded. "I kept my bell, Sasuke kept his, and we beat Naruto!"

"My answer is final," the Princess barked.

This was just a bad dream. It had to be. On paper, they'd passed with flying colors—she kept her bell and that satisfied the conditions to lead a team.

Or so she thought. It didn't feel real to have her leadership rescinded by none other than her own mentor. Worse, she already told Itachi that they would meet tomorrow.

"I know you were looking forward to being a team lead on this one," the Princess said, a little more softly. "But Sakura, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed."

In _what?_ She'd executed what was expected of her—perfectly!

"I agree with Kakashi. Teamwork is important, and Team 7's is missing. He said you and Sasuke could have killed each other if he didn't intervene."

They weren't being allowed on the mission because of _that?_

"Sasuke has been unprofessional ever since he returned. I simply asked him to stop teasing me, and yet he continued."

It stretched the truth a little, but...

"Seriously, Sakura?!"

She flinched.

"Honestly—this isn't like you. You should know better than to abuse the skills I taught you by using them on a comrade. You're a grown woman for goodness sake!"

"It was a lapse in judgement," Sakura admitted quietly. The Uchiha brat was a conceited cockroach—she meant every word yesterday, and she was still angry, but right now she couldn't let it interfere with her mission. It was time to step up the acting.

"And that lapse in judgement could cost your lives in the battlefield," the Princess said. "I'll send Neji's team instead. You and Sasuke are benched."

 _Shit,_ she inwardly cursed.

A few moments passed, and the Princess waited for her to leave, but she didn't.

She _couldn't._

She'd waited for so long already.

 _Just think_. There had to be another way.

"What about Naruto?" she asked.

Technically, Itachi's plan didn't require Sakura to be there when the Jinchuuriki was captured. If the Princess allowed him to tag along with a different team, then she could still send Akatsuki their way...

The Princess gave her a hard look, like she said something wrong. "We're talking about teamwork aren't we? All three of you are staying in the village," she said flatly.

Then plan B was out the window.

Shit.

She had to think of something else—she couldn't just send Itachi a note that said "nevermind".

 _Why_ oh _why_ did she have to lose her cool around the Uchiha brat yesterday? He was the entire reason why she was in this mess now.

"Is Jiraiya still scheduled to leave in two days?"

"Yes, he is. What of it?"

She still had time.

She could turn this around.

…

Sakura bit her lip and racked her brain for something. _Anything._

"What if I apologize before then," she blurted.

The Princess snorted.

"That would be great, and I think you should anyway. But it goes deeper than that—on top of him being unpredictable at best, the issues between you two are clearly deep-seated," she said.

"But if we can find a way to cooperate before someone has to leave for Iwa, will you allow Team 7 to go as planned?"

The Princess sighed. "It's not like you to be so combative, Sakura."

" _Please."_

She was met with pensive golden brown eyes. On any other day, Sakura would be smart enough to back off.

But this was too important. She couldn't let it go.

…

 _Please,_ she thought for the fifth time as she held her breath, waiting for the Princess to respond.

Ten seconds felt like an eternity.

"Fine. On one condition."

"Yes shishou, what is it?"

"You only have until sunset today. I have to give Neji's team a bit of warning if they're to leave tomorrow."

_Deal._

Now she only had to figure out her next step…

"Whether you succeed or fail, report back here at the end of the day. Six o'clock at the latest."

 _Done._ She could do it. How hard could it be?

"Sakura—may I give you a word of advice?"

She looked up at the Princess, who now looked more amused than before.

"Men are like boys. They only tease you when they like you."

* * *

It would've been dumb luck if she found the Uchiha brat on her first try.

The government-provided building looked crowded though it had few tenants, and it stood older than its real age because of its poor construction and dingy paint. Sakura peered into the dusty window of the unit, careful not to press her hands against the glass in case it would leave an uncomfortable residue on her hands.

She saw no signs of life coming from inside.

"Sakura? What are you doing out here?"

A shirtless Jinchuriki poked his head from inside his apartment. She'd almost forgotten that they were neighbors.

"I'm looking for Sasuke. Have you seen him?"

"I saw him this morning but…" the blonde had to pause as he jogged his own memory. "Oh—he went that way," he said, gesturing with an odd-looking mop.

 _That way_ was literally the most generic and unhelpful answer, especially since it happened to be the direction she just came from.

"Can you be a little more descriptive please?" She felt an urge to call the blonde useless, but decided she had to be a little nicer to both her teammates if she was going to convince anybody.

"Right, sorry. He uhm…" Always unable to contain his boundless energy, he swung around the stick in his hand, forcing Sakura to duck her head in an ungraceful manner. "He had some business at the Hyuga mansion, I think."

"Will you quit it? What is that," Sakura demanded, glaring at the stick.

"Oh—this. Do you like it? I made it," he beamed, holding it up as if to show off his craftsmanship. "It's going to help me clean the apartment. All the little nooks and crannies."

Sakura struggled to find a compliment. "Sure, it's very... _nice_ ," she said. More like, random as hell. "Anyways. Hokage has a mission for us. Meet me in her office before six tonight."

That seemed to settle him down.

"I'll be there."

"Perfect. Anyways, I have to go. See you."

"Wait—Sakura, did you want to grab—"

She dashed off in the direction of the Hyuga's, ignoring his calls after her.

* * *

She was entering the quieter part of Konoha now, where the wealthy had the luxury to isolate themselves from the village's everyday chaos.

A few minutes later, the Hyuga's mansion emerged in view. She almost forgot how magnificent the property was—shocked, even, especially as it was so drastically opposite from the apartments she just came from. It was generously ornamented with neat yet luscious green foliage for miles around. And though the property was old, it was kept in pristine condition, with its exterior walls a bright white, looking almost as if they were lacquered.

Sakura found herself at the top of the steps directly before the grand entrance, and gently pulled on the suspended purple ribbon, which sent the bell ringing through the air.

It wasn't long before she heard the click of a latch as a green-haired kunoichi opened the heavy doors. Sakura recognized her immediately—one of the well-known caretakers of the main branch family.

"Sakura-san, good afternoon," she said with a kind and relaxed smile. "It has been a while since you've last visited us. Would you like to come in?"

Sakura bowed. "Good afternoon, Natsu. Sorry for the intrusion—I won't be staying long."

"Are you looking for Hinata? I can ask her to come if you're in a hurry," Natsu offered.

She was always so nice.

Sakura shook her head. "Actually, I'm looking for Sasuke—I heard he was visiting?"

"May I ask what business you have with Uchiha-san? I'm afraid he is quite busy."

_Huh?_

The Uchiha brat was her teammate. Of course she had business with him. _Lots_ of business.

"If you are not looking for Hinata, I will have to bid you farewell, Sakura."

Something was different with Natsu now. While her features appeared to stay the same, Sakura knew that the caretaker was only mimicking a friendly expression. All her facial muscles were doing the work but there was no warmth, and it had to do with the fact that she asked about the Uchiha brat. If she didn't know any better, she'd think Natsu was being a bit… _protective_.

"Well as you know, Sasuke is my _close_ teammate and dear friend. We routinely have matters involving the Hokage," Sakura said as she returned a hard smile.

The woman eyed her up and down, not at all subtly. "I see."

Why did it feel like she was having a silent war with Natsu over the Uchiha brat?

"It's about his standing in the village," Sakura semi-lied. "He is expected to take action promptly." A little urgency couldn't help, since the woman was apparently _so_ concerned with the brat.

"He is with Hanabi exploring the town," Natsu said curtly.

Bingo.

"Thank you," Sakura said as she bowed again.

Natsu closed the door without a second glance, before Sakura could even lift her head.

Rude. And irritating.

On second thought, this whole thing was irritating. Since when did the Uchiha brat have such an active life in the village? Didn't he spend most of the time brooding by himself? It was much more difficult to find him than she anticipated.

But none of that mattered now—Sakura could see signs that the sun was preparing its descent, threatening six o'clock.

That man had better be downtown.

* * *

Okay. Now she was hungry _and_ pissed.

She decided to give her tired feet a break, settling to patron a small desserts place downtown just a little ways from the Hokage's main office. She ordered her favorite syrup-coated anko dumplings with a fresh cup of steaming tea.

She'd lost count of how many times she ran up and down the crowded streets by now.

Where the hell could he possibly be?

The snack didn't help to calm her nerves—she still had yet to hear a peep about his whereabouts, let alone get him to vouch for her to lead the mission.

"They looked lovely together," she overheard an old woman say.

"But isn't she supposed to be younger than him by a few years at least?"

_Ugh._

It was just her luck to be seated by old, _loud_ gossiping women. They probably had nothing better to do than get into everybody's business—something that Sakura had little patience for. She couldn't _think._

"She was chosen to be the heir by her family despite being the younger one. She is mature beyond her years," she said. "Besides, a five-year gap between two adults is hardly anything."

Sakura shoved the rest of her dumplings into her mouth and slammed a few bills on the table. Grannies could be so clueless about their surroundings sometimes.

Just outside, two giggling teenagers walked past.

"Did you see him earlier? She's so lucky to be seen walking beside someone so handsome."

"But she's beautiful too," the other girl sighed. "I wish I could look like that."

 _Seriously?_ Had Sakura missed a memo?

Everyone seemed to be talking about some feudal couple in Konoha today. Clearly, she missed the part where someone explained why she should give a shit. Sakura was just about to walk by the girls when—

"Or is it just a publicity stunt because he's the last of his clan?"

Nevermind—not some feudal couple.

It was the Uchiha brat. But why was he being talked about so much?

"Hey," Sakura called out to the two girls. "By any chance, are you talking about the Uchiha clan?"

The girls looked at each other and hesitated, probably embarrassed to have been caught.

Sakura skipped the pleasantries. "Where did he go?"

The first girl pointed in the direction of the training fields. "Around twenty minutes ago, he was walking that way," she said.

Sakura took off running.

* * *

She was so mad that she had to dig her nails into the pads of her thumbs to keep from screaming.

Sakura spotted Hanabi first. It was hard not to see her in that bright gown, sitting upright, mermaid-style, with perfect posture. It looked like she'd even taken an extra effort to be fancy; her long brown hair was braided and twisted to one side over her shoulder, and her cheeks were pink with a heavy coat of blush.

And there he was, casually sitting right next to Hanabi. Dressed in formal Uchiha attire—obviously fresh-pressed—sipping his tea under the shaded tree. On the fucking picnic blanket.

Meanwhile, Sakura was sweaty, tired, and running out of time.

"Sasuke, we need to talk."

She had one, maybe one and a half hours left before the Princess gave away her precious mission to Neji. The stakes were at an all-time high, yet her teammate was doing who knew what playing dress-up.

It was almost funny, really.

"Sakura-san," Hanabi said in greeting. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

 _Sakura-san?_ Hanabi sure had nerve—she was their junior. And why was she acting so formal like she had a stick up her ass?

Shoving all of her pride and dignity aside, Sakura turned to the Uchiha brat and repeated herself. "Can I _please_ get a word in private?"

"I believe you were asked a question," he said.

 _Fuck you Sasuke,_ is what she wanted to say. But Sakura bit her tongue, and he probably knew she was too. In fact, he also probably knew that _she_ knew _he_ knew she was biting her tongue, and the bastard was probably loving every minute of it.

"We have business involving Hokage-sama's orders," she lied for the second time that day.

"I'm sure Hokage-sama is capable of summoning me herself."

Sakura felt her cheeks get hot as she stood there awkwardly. Right. He had an ego the size of the moon.

They had an audience now, and he was trying to make her lose her cool and look stupid.

She had her ways too.

"It's about Itachi."

The Uchiha brat cursed and abruptly got up from where he was sitting, sending an apologetic look to Hanabi as he grabbed Sakura's wrist.

"Ow! Sasuke, let go of me," Sakura said.

He ignored her until he managed to drag her behind a far tree where they couldn't be overheard.

"Don't say his name."

The tension in his body told her that he was still angry at her for yesterday.

Well so was she.

" _What_ are you doing?" Sakura hissed. "Why are you dressed like a hina doll? You look ridiculous."

"None of your business," he hit back. "What are _you_ doing here? I'm _busy._ "

How exactly was she supposed to do this?

Dare she say, she had to _apologize._

"I came here to say sorry," Sakura started. She refrained from rolling her eyes because then he would know that she was being forced to do it.

He looked unmoved. " _Apologize_?"

"Let's call a truce," Sakura said, trying not to sound as sarcastic as she felt. "I shouldn't have said those things yesterday." _Even though you deserved it,_ she added in her own head. The words just felt so unnatural coming from her mouth—it was like pulling teeth.

He didn't say anything for the first few moments. Instead, it was like he was studying her.

She stared back, refusing to cave.

...

"Tell me why you're really here."

"Sasuke, I'm serious. I'm sorry." She put her all into mimicking the most genuine expression on her face that she could handle. And the faster she could get this over with, the better—Akatsuki really didn't have time to be subjected to the arrogant shithead's pouty attitude.

He scoffed. "I can't believe that works on Naruto. Whatever it is you want, I'm not interested. Now get out of here before I do something we'll _both_ regret," he said as he began to turn away.

For fuck's sake.

It was her hand that shot out to grab his wrist this time.

"Listen to me. You're working to repair your standing in the village right now aren't you?. Team 7 is a part of that."

"That's rich," he said with a haughty laugh. "Yesterday you made it very clear that it has nothing to do with you. So just fuck off, Sakura."

 _Don't respond to that_ , she thought at first. But Sakura already felt her blood begin to boil. The little Uchiha brat thought so damn highly of himself, telling her to leave when she came here to _apologize._

"Oh yeah? Or you'll do _what—kill_ me? Like you tried with Itachi? Because last time I checked you weren't very good at—"

Her back hit the tree faster than she could finish the sentence.

Next thing she knew, Sakura felt herself being pressed against the wood with her feet suspended in the air. She was being pinned at the neck, her assailant's forearm pressing heavily against her throat with the entire force of his leaning upper body.

By the time she tried to collect chakra in her hands, all she could feel was her body beginning to go limp.

She couldn't breathe.

"You don't know how _fucking_ easy it would be to kill you right now," he snarled.

"S-sasuke—"

She forced a hoarse cry. Her throat felt like it was about to be crushed. Her back ached and throbbed at the site of the impact, but more importantly, she was losing oxygen so fast that her vision was cutting out.

He brought his face so close to hers that his bangs brushed against her cheek. With a low, almost deadly voice, he continued at barely a whisper. "Don't take my leniency for weakness."

This time there was no one who could see them—no one to come rescue her.

She needed her partner.

_Itachi._

He was her comfort. If he had to be the last thing she ever thought about, so be it.

His little brother was always just the little Uchiha brat, and she always enjoyed calling him that humiliating nickname in her head. But now as she held on for dear life, at the mercy of just one of his arms, she'd been forced to realize the hard truth—it was the second day in a row that he'd prominently displayed their large gap in power.

She wouldn't call him that anymore. He was dangerous—and he could put his money where his mouth was.

"Final warning—don't disrespect me anymore."

Just when she felt the last bit of consciousness leaving her body, the grip on her was released, and instant relief swept through her being. Sasuke backed off, allowing her to collapse forward on her hands and knees. She gasped as she rapidly forced air back into her deprived lungs, almost choking on her spit in the process.

That was close. She was certain that if he wanted her dead, she would be.

He turned to leave.

"Sasuke wait—"

She had to get him on her side quickly, but it was now crystal clear that force wasn't going to work.

She'd have to do something crazy to get his attention.

_Men are like boys. They only tease you when they like you._

She had one idea.

And it was definitely the surprise of the century when Hidan kissed her. Something like that would technically be the last thing Sasuke expected, wouldn't it?

_Ha._

She settled for the next best thing.

"Sasuke—I know where Akatsuki is."

He stopped in his tracks, his back still turned.

For a moment, the world stilled.

"I thought I told you not to fuck with me."

Sakura stood cautiously, purposefully putting distance between the two of them just in case Sasuke had a change of heart and decided to kill her instead.

At least it seemed like she had his attention now—that was a start. She'd have to spin this as best as she could.

"Hokage-sama wanted to keep it secret. Team 7 was supposed to visit Iwa, but only because Akatsuki is rumored to be headquartered there. She's hiding it from you because she doesn't want to influence your behavior," she said.

"What's the catch?"

"It's us—you and me. We have to agree to cooperate with each other. That's why I came to apologize."

That wasn't half bad for something made up on-the-fly. Of course, bits and pieces of truth were woven in so that it sounded natural.

"No… I mean, why are you suddenly so interested in rebuilding Team 7? Just for the sake of a mission? What's your angle? Since when did you give two fucks about Akatsukui?"

Her breath hitched. She hoped he didn't notice.

"For Konoha. The village needs us."

She hadn't thought this far ahead.

"No," he said with even more suspicion now, as he stepped closer with his eyebrows furrowed. "Why do you want it to be _you?_ I'm sure any other team could get the job done."

He'd poke holes in her lie if she wasn't careful. This wasn't like fooling the Jinchuriki—Sasuke naturally had his guard up and it was clear that he didn't trust people easily, especially if he sensed the possibility of an ulterior motive.

 _Did he_ sense an ulterior motive, though?

Her heart started to beat a little faster. She tried to control her pulse.

"I was offered to lead. That's not a chance anybody would pass up," she said. "It's win-win; you investigate Akatsuki, I get prestige. You just have to tell Hokage-sama that we've made peace."

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't intimidated. He looked so intense, all the darkness of his desire for revenge and hatred for her own partner swirling behind her reflection in his eyes.

He was tempted. She could see it.

She refrained from speaking, to not interrupt the fury of thoughts likely running in the back of his mind as he came to the decision.

He was leaning towards yes.

Just a little longer and he'd speak the words that would solidify Akatsuki's success. She just had to be patient.

"Sasuke-kun?!"

A high-pitched voice barged into their private discussion.

Sasuke's focus was pulled from Sakura and it seemed like he found his grounding again, all the intensity in his eyes fading away.

"It's nothing, Hanabi. I'm coming," he said.

Sakura had almost forgotten that the girl was kept waiting.

Fuck.

The moment was ruined. Sakura wasn't so sure that Sasuke would agree to it anymore.

It didn't slip past her notice that _of course_ , with Hanabi, he was his most well-mannered and stoic self, the way that she would've _preferred_ instead of the pestering version she'd been unfortunate enough to experience for weeks.

"Sakura-san, I'm sorry to be frank with you, but you're disturbing a private outing," Hanabi huffed.

Those words triggered a nerve.

"The adults are talking right now," Sakura replied disdainfully. "Go away, little girl."

And she should quit that stupid formal act in front of Sasuke while she was at it.

Hanabi's pale eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe Sakura had just given her the insult of her life. Served her right. What were they doing out here anyway? It was cold as hell and they were _picnicking._

"Don't be such a killjoy, _"_ Hanabi said. "I wouldn't want to tell my big sis that I had to slap some manners into you, Sakura."

"Oh _there_ you are Hanabi," Sakura said with falseness. "I was beginning to think we lost you under all that makeup."

"Sakura," Sasuke commanded in a warning tone.

 _Ugh—fine._ She shouldn't push her luck. At this rate, she'd be considered lucky if Sasuke agreed to her truce.

He allowed Hanabi to lead him away quietly, as Sakura watched incredulously at their backs. It was weird, to say the least. She never thought Sasuke would be the type to date.

"Sasuke, just meet me in Hokage's office in an hour, okay?"

"I'll think about it," he called over his shoulder casually. "If I'm not busy."

Sakura fumed.

* * *

_In the distance_

There was someone with him, in his house.

The problem was that he lived alone.

He lay in his bed, under the covers, cold, black fear keeping him from making a sound that would bring the unwelcome presence closer, faster. He felt his clothes begin to stick to his body from perspiration, as if they were melting onto him.

The quiet was like the calm before a storm.

"Sometimes, dead is better."

He gasped.

A hand shot out and clamped over his mouth and nose. He thrashed and thrashed as he screamed inside his mouth, but a second pair of hands weighed his body down until his arms were forced by his sides.

"Don't worry—we're being paid a hefty sum to keep you _alive_."

* * *

"What is this for?" said Sakura, frowning as she examined the scroll in her hands.

It was some sort of dark medical scroll.

"Your protection. Not to be used unless it's a life or death situation. And you must keep that to yourself at all costs," warned the Princess.

"Protection from what?"

They were alone in Hokage's office. It was 5:50 in the evening. Sakura had no idea if Sasuke was going to show up, but she told the Princess that he would. The more momentum they could get towards this mission, the better.

"Sakura, I know you don't want to hear this. But I can't take the chance," she said with her fingers melodramatically laced in front of her face. "When Sasuke first came back, ANBU discovered that he had an injury. He doesn't know this, but I had them bind his body to that scroll as insurance," she said as she motioned to the object in Sakura's hands.

Insurance?

She didn't notice anything when she healed him a few weeks ago, the night of their reunion. And she had checked him _thoroughly._ What gives?

"There are some things I haven't taught you yet, and for good reason. If he turns on you and Naruto during the mission, or if he defects, use that scroll. You know how those things work. He will never be able to use ninjutsu again."

If she activated it, the area in his flank would activate a surge of foreign chakra. The surge would overflow his system, and while these things were a bit unpredictable, it wouldn't be pretty.

How unfortunate.

The Uchiha was seen as dispensable, whereas she, the real traitor, was not.

This was the harsh reality of shinobi.

Again, it was _all the reason for Akatsuki to succeed_ , as Leader would say _._

"I understand how this might look. Don't get me wrong—I want to believe in Team 7. But I'll be damned if the council turns out to be right and I allowed something to happen to you or Naruto because of my own naivety. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't abuse that power."

_Wrong._

She'd be using it tonight. Itachi, Kisame, and Hidan had an entire day to travel thanks to her heads-up. They were close. A quick one-two punch and Sasuke would be dead. It was perfect.

"Thank you for looking out for me, shishou," Sakura said as she bowed.

She looked at the clock. 5:58.

_Two more minutes._

Just then, she sensed a male presence.

_Sasuke._

The door burst open.

"Baa-chan, you've been calling me into your office a lot lately. Is this your way of trying to spend time with me?"

"Shut up! Naruto, be professional," barked the exasperated Princess.

It wasn't Sasuke.

Sakura was getting nervous.

What if he didn't show?

"Anosa, anosa! Since Sasuke's back, I hope it's an A-ranked mission at least?"

"Idiot, tell me why you think I summoned you three?" The Hokage said with her fist in the air. "Where is Sasuke?!"

_Shit._

"He's coming," Sakura assured.

She bit her lip and looked at the clock. 5:59.

Sasuke had thirty seconds. He'd _better_ come.

"He's usually early," the Jinchuriki said.

"You two _did_ come to an agreement, I presume?" the Princess asked suspiciously, almost as if she saw right through her apprentice. "You wouldn't have _lied_ to me, right Sakura?"

Shit. Fuck. Shit.

The Jinchuriki looked curiously between the two women. "Agreement? What's baa-chan talking about?"

Fifteen more seconds.

"Oi, Sakura? Are you okay? Baa-chan, why's Sakura looking so pale?!"

Sasuke was _always_ early. That meant he wasn't coming. Akatsuki lost its chance.

"Dobe, be quiet."

A figure walked in, and took a stand on Sakura's other side.

She looked at the clock. It read six o'clock on the dot. _Holy fuck_ that was close.

Sasuke caught her glance and smirked.

And that's when Sakura truly realized what a conniving little shit he was—he _knew_ she was eager for him to show up, and that's why he decided to drag it out as much as possible, arriving at the last second to make her feel antsy.

The Princess cleared her throat. "Looks like we can get started. This mission is A-ranked." She flipped open a file on her desk with a single piece of paper tucked into it.

Sakura could see that there was a small picture of someone, but couldn't make out the details from where she stood.

"Konoha is preparing for a war," she said. "Consider this your first diplomatic mission as Team 7. There's been a series of disappearances lately, some which include two members of Kiba's clan," the Princess said. "They were kidnapped or killed. We don't know which."

" _Shit,_ " The Jinchuriki said. "I had no idea... I should talk to Kiba."

"Naruto, don't get side-tracked. There's nothing you can do now except focus on the task at hand," the Princess reminded him. "We don't know who's behind it, but we think it could be Akatsuki. However, we also don't know for certain that it wasn't Iwa. Worst case, they're working together."

Sakura tensed. Had Akatsuki started getting a move on without her? Had she been left out of some plans?

"You're going to take this as a peace offering to Iwa," the Princess said, throwing something to Sasuke. "This is your official mission."

"What is that, baa-chan?"

"That's your cover—a list of common antidotes Konoha created," she said. "Iwa is lacking in medical knowledge and they will be grateful for it."

"Cover?" Sakura asked.

"On the surface, you'll be repairing relations between Iwa and Konoha. But at the same time, you should be looking into the surrounding areas to see if you can find any clues about their political loyalty," the Princess began. "Sasuke should know something about this."

Sasuke nodded. "If they're preparing for something offensive, we'll see a divide among the people, or disruptions to the local economy. There may be rumors or cash flow problems as fear spreads to the civilians."

The Jinchuriki nodded along. "Mhm... mhm... this all makes sense. So we clobber our enemies if we run into them, right?"

"You probably picked that up under Orochimaru," the Princess said to Sasuke. Then she sighed as she looked at the Jinchuriki. "In any case, we absolutely do _not_ want it to be known that Leaf-nin are poking their heads for intel, especially if we are giving them a peace offering. Do _not_ clobber anyone."

The Princess closed the file on her desk and motioned for Sakura to be the one to keep it.

"On your way to Iwa, be sure to visit Yukkao, which is a town of vice near Hidden Grass. I have a hunch there may be information regarding the disappearances there."

Sakura nodded.

"Travel along the mapped route here," the Princess continued. "We already sent a pigeon—they'll be expecting you in around one week. This is a simple mission with the end goal being a Suna-Iwa-Konoha alliance. Do not overcomplicate things," she said, giving the Jinchuriki a warning look.

"Wait—baa-chan, you gave the scroll to Sasuke and the mission papers to Sakura. What do I get?"

He began to smile as if he was expecting that she'd saved the best for last.

"Nothing."

The Jinchuriki's head dropped. "So cruel…"

"You three leave in one hour. And Naruto, you should know this—Jiraiya is scheduled to leave tomorrow or the day after for his own investigation. Both of you are expected to return in three weeks to report your findings. Sasuke—don't forget to stop by the Hyuga's property again to pay your respects."

Sakura looked curiously at her raven-haired teammate. _What_ was he up to?

"Dismissed!" The Princess waved her hand as if to make them go away as soon as possible. "I have something important to do."

* * *

"Tsunade, I was caught off guard when you asked me to meet here, but I can't say that I'm disappointed!" Jiraiya cackled as he raised his shot glass in the air.

"Tch. Idiot," Tsunade muttered from beside him.

He knew it wouldn't be long before she could no longer hold back her grin. Like magic, there it appeared, just moments later.

The two threw their heads back and downed some of the village's finest sake, slamming their glasses on the table afterwards for effect. Both of their cheeks were pink with drunkenness as they sat side by side in the pub down the street from the Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama! This round's on us," yelled the kitchen crew as a waitress came out, switching their empty sake for a fresh bottle.

"You are fine men. All of you!" Jiraiya yelled, cackling again as he refilled their shot glasses.

Although he appeared to have his guard down, Jiraiya was not as drunk as he seemed. He was fully aware of how close he was sitting to Tsunade, with his arm pressing against hers generously.

He never felt more at home than right now, with the woman who still held his heart after all this time. Many years ago, he tried to bury his feelings with strange towns and women, calling himself a hermit and traveling the world as a free spirit. But the feelings always came flying back.

Not that he would show it.

"This brings back memories," Jiraiya said as he sighed with content. "Don't you think so?"

He looked over at his childhood teammate who appeared to be deep in thought. Something was troubling her, but she probably wouldn't admit it if he asked directly. He suspected that their last-minute meeting time and location was somehow related to it.

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "I can't remember the last time I was able to get away from the office."

Although she had considerably tamed her gambling and drinking antics since shouldering the burden of the honorific Hokage title, it was still in her nature to pull stunts every now and then.

"Poor suckers probably don't even know what hit them," Jiraiya jabbed, loudly laughing at the fact that she probably left mounds of unfinished paperwork with her bumbling assistants.

She scowled in her seat, probably feeling a little irresponsible. "Hey! I have official business here too," she said, huffing in the opposite direction with her arms crossed.

"Oh? Do tell, Tsunade..." he said comically into her ear.

x

She picked up on the way he said her name. Though he often tried to hide things with humor, Tsunade was aware of Jiraiya's feelings for her. He didn't know that she chose to turn a blind eye because she was afraid of what would happen if she really _did_ love him.

Dan… Nawaki… They'd all left her in this world.

He was the only one left.

Anytime she ever found someone to love, they ended up dead. It was a curse. That's why she couldn't love Jiraiya.

Tsunade stared at the empty shot glass in front of her, deciding that there was no point in delaying the inevitable. "You plan to leave tonight, don't you?"

He went into his thinking mode, like he had to think of something to say now that he'd been found out.

Her question must've caught him off guard. Apparently she appeared more drunk than she actually was.

"Well I guess there's no point in hiding it now," he nodded in affirmation. "I didn't want to give you time to think it over. This is something I have to do, and god knows I'd stay if you asked me to."

Tsunade forced a faint chuckle. "Well I guess you'll be on your way tonight then," she said quietly.

In the middle of the afternoon, a strong urge to find Jiraiya had overcome her. Her guess was truly a shot in the dark, but here they were. And it turns out her gut instinct was right. He was going to slip away to Ame without saying goodbye.

"Come back alive." Her tone was pleading, unable to downplay her sadness. "If I was to lose you too, I would—"

"You'd cry for me? I'm so honored!" Jiraiya said playfully, trying to cheer her up. "Well, then let's have a gamble, shall we?"

"A gamble?"

"You should bet that I'm going to die."

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Then, if I come back alive…" He paused for a dramatic effect. "You'll go out with me."

…

"I'm joking! I'm joking!" he assured her quickly, when he saw that she was horrified. "I'm really grateful to you, seriously."

"Stop trying to act so cool, you goof," she scoffed. "If anything happens, use your toads to communicate with me. I'll come—"

"There's no need for that. Stay in the village, where you're needed."

"They have Naruto," Tsunade countered.

"You're really sold on that kid huh? Training him reminds me of my days with Minato," said Jiraiya, reminiscing.

"He's really not the genius like his father was."

"It's true. But he looks so much like Minato."

They'd both watched Naruto grow into a fine shinobi and man, filling in as his caretakers when they needed to.

"Anyway, watch over him for me, will you?" he asked.

Tsunade nodded.

"I should get going. I have unfinished business before I leave." Jiraiya threw down a few hundred ryo. "Tell them to keep the change."

She rolled her eyes. He'd soon be spending another thousand ryo on alcohol in a different town.

"Ja ne!"

Jiraiya lifted the curtain of the pub's entrance, letting in the soft glow of the bustling night markets just outside. He made lingering eye contact with Tsunade as they exchanged a wordless dialogue.

With a final wave, he disappeared into the street.

Feeling his absence grow as he walked further and further away, Tsunade sat by herself for a bit longer at the table.

She was the village's leader. They trusted her to do right by her people. Jiraiya was going to confirm that Akatsuki was in Ame. His work was crucial to providing the evidence Konoha needed to present to the other kages for an alliance. Without the proof, they wouldn't be able to protect themselves against Akatsuki.

She had no choice but to let him go.

Yet she wished it would've been somebody else. He always got the short end of the stick.

_You fool. I'll say yes if you come back._

* * *

"Hanabi, I hoped you would've made more progress than that."

It was all Haruno's fault.

"T-things were going well," she argued. "Our interactions had been pleasant the entire day… it was all according to plan."

That was, until _she_ showed up.

It didn't matter how Hanabi tried… how pretty she looked, how polite she was. For the remainder of the hour, Sasuke was thinking about whatever it was Sakura said to him. And then, abruptly, he said he had business to take care of, and escorted her home without a kiss goodnight.

"Need I remind you what your alternative is?"

"I know, father. You don't have to tell me this. I have every intention of succeeding."

"Doriru is prepared to—"

"No. That won't be necessary."

They were _cousins._ It was a disgusting protocol—not to mention an outdated and ineffective one—for the head family heir to marry close just for the sake of keeping the bloodline pure.

"As the leader of the main branch, you are the protector of our ocular jutsu. Your only purpose in this life is to strengthen it where you can, and pass it along to the next Hyuga generation."

"I will not fail the clan."

Sasuke was her only way out of the would-be arranged marriage; the only thing better than passing down pure Byakugan was passing down a Byakugan-Sharingan combination.

And she could do a lot worse than Sasuke.

"I can assure you, father. He _will_ be mine."

* * *

**To be continued...**


	13. The Confrontation

Thank god she'd been the one to receive the map. Sakura held the scroll in front of her face, summoning the chakra pen.

_Itachi,_

_We're coming._

_Wait for us by the river, 30 miles southeast of Tannabi bridge. We'll be there an hour before midnight. Attack on sight._

_-Sakura_

The plan was moving along nicely, albeit after a slow start. Knowing Itachi, he would've been able to predict their route with just the few details she provided earlier, and was probably already waiting for them.

It was now just a matter of leading the Jinchuriki into the trap.

 _Tekisuto no jutsu_.

* * *

The Jinchuriki and Sasuke beat her to the front gates.

Her blonde teammate wore a similar cloak as hers, with his signature orange pants and black cargo jacket underneath.

Sasuke's attire contrasted sharply with the two of their white cloaks. He wore a loose black turtleneck with a bandana wrapped around his head. He also wore a grey armor vest over his torso which matched with his grey pants. She'd never seen him in such attire, but she supposed she hadn't seen much since they grew up.

"Oi! Sakura, why do you think Kakashi isn't coming with us?" the blonde called to her from across the field.

"Naruto, it's obvious…" said his teammate apathetically, as if he'd long figured out the village politics. "If we needed Kakashi, we'd be pretty useless."

Sakura nodded in affirmation. "Shishou and her teammates completed missions without Lord Third in their prime. We should do the same."

The three of them felt a powerful chakra approach, interrupting their conversation with a violent rumbling of the air. Speak of the devil.

"Lucky strike!" A figure emerged in a puff of smoke, striking a kabuki pose in an over-the-top fashion. "Is that my favorite disciple leaving already?!"

"Pervy-sage! What're you doing here?"

"I heard my apprentice was heading out of town!"

"Eh?! Does this mean you're coming with us?!"

The old geezer laughed. "No kid, you're on your own. I've got something big to work on."

"You mean something big to _perv_ on?" asked the Jinchuriki incredulously.

"What—no—don't say that so loudly in front of other people!" The toad sage whispered harshly, despite their conversation being heard by all. "People will think I'm some kind of closet pervert!"

"Old man.." said the blonde, with his voice low. He put a hand up to his face and whispered, "I wouldn't say you're a _closet_ pervert…"

"Right—I am not a closet pervert!" the legendary sannin exclaimed in revulsion. "I… am a SUPER PERVERT!"

Sakura deadpanned. It was no wonder Tsunade's fists found regular purchase to the side of his head. The man was completely reprehensible, and proud of it.

"But let's not get side-tracked. I came for one purpose only," the Sannin said with a smile. He put a firm hand on the Jinchuriki's shoulder and beamed. "I just came to wish you luck. Make me proud out there."

"You know I will! We'll get ramen when I get back, okay?"

"Naruto…" he said with a loud cackle. "This mission should pay you nicely! I expect you to treat me once in a while."

"Hey—I've seen your bank notes. You can afford to treat the whole village every once in a while!"

"Who, me?!" The hermit exclaimed with a hearty laugh, throwing his arm around the Jinchuriki's neck and putting him in a choke hold.

"Ah!—let me go—you're embarrassing me!"

The toad sage cackled some more, clearly enjoying torturing the blonde, before releasing his hold and forming another hand sign. "I'm out of here. Ja ne!"

Sakura and Sasuke watched with amusement as he disappeared in another puff of smoke. It was certainly affectionate how the old man came all this way to the front gates just to see his apprentice out.

 _Enjoy it, geezer_. It would be his last goodbye before Akatsuki came to take the vessel.

The Jinchuriki dusted off his pants and readjusted his jacket, grumbling to himself. He fixed his collar and then nodded at Sakura, signaling that he was ready to go.

With that, Team 7 headed into the woods.

* * *

They ran without pause for at least three hours.

The openings in the trees were a familiar sight as they neared the 20 mile mark before Tannabi bridge. Sakura had flared her chakra intensely for the last ten miles.

 _Anytime now, Itachi,_ Sakura said to herself.

She got curious looks from her teammates. "We're in our home country, so we shouldn't sneak around," she explained. "You guys should flare your chakras too." It was stupid, but she didn't think Itachi was going to take this long.

"Good thinking, Sakura! We can take turns; I'll start when you stop flaring yours."

Sasuke was a little more apprehensive. "No, both of you—that's a terrible idea. The whole point of being a ninja is _not_ to be detected."

Obviously, he was used to leading—not taking orders.

The Jinchuriki elbowed him in the stomach. "Just do it," he hissed. "It's the first time she's captain."

Thank goodness Sakura could rely on the blonde's stupid affection for her to overpower Sasuke's unrelenting logical personality. It made things a lot easier.

By this point, the Jinchuriki had taken the lead.

Sakura felt herself falling behind after only a few minutes. She was desperate to help Akatsuki find them more easily, but she wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer. Surely Itachi would still be able to find her, so maybe he wouldn't mind if she stopped signaling and took a little rest—

"Sakura. Watch out!"

She felt herself get yanked backwards by her hood.

"I got you," she heard Sasuke whisper. She felt strong hands grasp both sides of her arms, holding her upright.

She squirmed and shoved him off. "What the _hell_ was that for?"

"You must be really tired," he said, pointing to something beneath them. "You ran straight into that trap."

Sure enough, there was a rudimentary wire crossing their path, and it was rigged with an explosive tag. It was probably leftovers from someone else's battle that they hadn't bothered to clean up.

She really must've been out of it.

She watched as Sasuke cut the wire with a kunai and deactivated the explosive tag, causing it to go up in smoke.

"It's because you're expending too much chakra—stop wasting it. You'll pass out."

 _Tch._ He was getting on her nerves.

"Naruto, wait up!" he shouted. "I'm serious," Sasuke pressed, looking to her again. "Call a break, Sakura. Before Naruto gets too far from us."

From the looks of it, the Jinchuriki had left them in the dust.

"Stop interfering," Sakura snapped. "You can't help but be a pain in my ass, can you?"

And just then her blood ran cold.

Someone was coming—and it was someone with a lot of chakra.

She didn't have the ability to determine who it was at this distance, but she assumed it was her partner.

Itachi was making his move.

In her peripheral vision, Sasuke sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through his hair. "Just forget it."

"Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry," she muttered, apologizing only half-heartedly.

The chakra was getting stronger by the second, and she reached into her pocket to where she kept the dark medical scroll from Princess Tsunade, which would give her an immediate edge against Sasuke in battle.

She'd activate it first thing.

Sakura wondered what it would do—freeze his cells before exploding them? Or would it just stop his heart altogether? She hoped it would be the latter; it was less messy that way. She'd find out in about five seconds.

Then a loud, crass voice bellowed from a shadow in the nearby trees. "What's up, guys? I felt someone's chakra disappear, so I figured it was my turn."

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Naruto! Don't sneak up on us like that," she yelped. She felt the slow rising prickles of embarrassment reaching her ears, thankful to the night for hiding her flushed cheeks.

It then occurred to her that the large body of chakra she felt earlier was standing right beside her.

Damn. False alarm.

Itachi wasn't here. Something was wrong.

"Let's stop here and take a bathroom break," Sakura said. "I'll be right back."

Feeling weak and clumsy, she made her way towards the nearest cluster of trees by the river and pulled out her communication scroll, ensuring that the sounds of the stream drowned out the unraveling of her paper.

Itachi was never late. He should've been able to sense her from even 30 or 40 miles away, which was plenty of time to prepare an attack. Something must've happened.

_Itachi,_

_We've stopped. I'll wait for you._

_-Sakura_

* * *

It was late in the evening.

Earlier in the week, Leader notified Kisame that he'd have some sort of announcement for them. Itachi and his partners were waiting for midnight to roll around. Just another half-hour and he'd be able to finally go to sleep.

"Lord Jashin," Hidan cried from the kitchen, fully aware that Itachi and Kisame could hear every word. "These shitheads are fuckin' boring!"

"How do you think we feel?" Kisame asked, balancing Samehada against the back of the kitchen stool as he entered the room. "Lucky that you're not us. You would've been driven insane."

He gave a toothy grin to Itachi, who entered behind Kisame and slumped into the far couch with a sweaty brow.

"By what?" Hidan asked innocently. "Somethin' happen?"

Kisame allowed the silence to linger as he opened a package of dried nuts and began munching.

Revelation dawned on Hidan as he finally understood the implication, and he narrowed his eyes. "Hey—asshole, got somethin' to say?! Just say it!"

"Of course not, Hidan. Poor Samehada's looking skinnier by the day," Kisame said, changing the subject.

"It's too noisy in here," Itachi said. His patience was wearing thin.

Hidan tsk'ed and made a comment under his breath as he opened the fridge and began rummaging.

"Kisame, that reminds me—wouldn't you say it's about time to switch off?" Itachi asked. He'd reluctantly given Kisame the communication scroll partnered with Sakura's, upon the shark's own request. His loyal partner wanted to lighten his load even if it was just for a little.

Kisame nodded and left the kitchen to fetch it from his room where he promised that it was kept out of Hidan's hands. Not like the cultist would be interested anyway, but they hadn't been partnered long enough for Itachi to trust him with anything.

When Kisame returned, he handed it to Itachi. "As you already know, the thing hasn't done anything in the three weeks I've had it. When was the last time you heard from Sakura?"

"Did anyone save some spare ribs for me?!" Hidan interrupted.

"Feel free to go grocery shopping and buy some more," Kisame said without looking up.

Hidan shot them a sour look and went back to the fridge.

"Not since she notified me of Sasuke's return to Konoha," Itachi said. "Knowing how the village operates, delays are understandable."

Kisame nodded.

But Itachi left some things unsaid. To be honest, Sakura was being less communicative than he was comfortable with. He would've at least liked a projected date for when the Jinchuriki planned to leave the village.

No matter. It was ten minutes to midnight. "Kisame, did Leader give us a code for this one?"

"Right. Hidan—what was it again?"

Hidan's bored expression became irritated at the mention. "Fuckin' prick. I still have to pay ya back for interrupting my ritual…"

"Right, right, you can do that later. Hurry up and give it to Itachi."

"I'm getting it, ya blue-gilled freak..." he grumbled as he went upstairs.

Kisame sighed.

A second later, they heard hollering and frantic running down the stairs.

"Kisame! Where's that blank bundle of paper?!"

Itachi closed his eyes to meditate, as the boiling blood in his veins wouldn't be good for his condition.

"What're you talking about? Bundle of paper—"

"That scroll on your desk. It was there," said Hidan.

"Why were _you_ in my room?"

Itachi held the scroll up. "Are you talking about this one?"

Hidan relaxed. "That's the one—I wrote the code inside."

"You _what_?" Kisame looked at Itachi nervously.

"What's the matter—dontcha remember asking me to remember it, _Fishface_?"

Itachi slowly opened his scroll. Sure enough, there was a string of letters and numbers written messily inside. "Once configured, the communication scroll is robust to environmental mishaps. There's only one thing that would completely deactivate it," he said.

"Don't tell me…" Kisame began, eyes fixated on the dried-up brown ink Hidan used.

Itachi nodded in affirmation. "Blood."

"Hey—stop being cryptic," Hidan demanded in a panic. "Kisame—what's he saying?!"

"You messed up, and it wasn't a small thing," Kisame said.

Itachi put his head backwards and looked up at the ceiling."It means we haven't been receiving any of Sakura's messages."

They were dark.

* * *

"We should stop while we're still ahead. We don't want to get exhausted," said Sasuke.

"Tired already?" Naruto jabbed, already taking off his backpack to unfasten his sleeping bag.

He saw Sasuke shoot a glance at their quiet pink-haired teammate when she wasn't looking. He probably wasn't used to the fact that he didn't have the same charm as he used to. Sakura was no longer fawning over her precious 'Sasuke-kun'.

He'd tease the man about it later.

They found a flat clearing near the river hidden by monster trees and boulders. Like clockwork, Naruto and Sakura started to gather logs and dried leaves while Sasuke began a bare-bones trap in a protective circle around the area.

They had a cozy camp in minutes.

Naruto made sure to set up his sleeping bag next to Sakura's so that he could protect her, like he always tried to do when they were on missions together.

"We're still in Fire country, so the chances of being attacked by enemies are low," he said, showing his more mature and tactical side. "They would sooner try to run past us undetected than try to start a fight."

"Agreed. We can set up a basic trap but let's avoid anything more complicated," Sakura said. She wouldn't want to make things difficult for Itachi.

Naruto nodded along thoughtfully as he took a handful of the trail mix prepared by Sakura. It didn't taste great, but he loved it anyway.

"I completely disagree. My experience tells me we should set traps anyway," Sasuke said.

Naruto grew solemn at the thought that Sasuke probably learned the hard way.

"But I wouldn't want to _interfere_ with anything," he then added sarcastically.

Sakura shot him a look of death, and Naruto wordlessly told Sasuke to cool it. They didn't need to fight on their first night together.

"Say—wasn't Orochimaru's hideout around there?" Naruto asked.

"He had many hideouts. There was one near Grass," Sasuke confirmed stiffly.

"If he weren't dead, he'd be my first suspect for the recent shinobis' disappearances," Naruto said.

"Maybe," said Sasuke as he grabbed his toiletries and left. He clearly wasn't ready to talk about his past just yet.

Sakura and him stayed behind, keeping the campfire going.

"Hey Sakura, shouldn't we create a signal at least, since we might be close to enemy hideouts? Or since I'm the Jinchuriki..."

"This is our country," Sakura said. "If someone like Orochimaru or Akatsuki wanted to attack, they'd go straight to the village. They wouldn't bother with us."

Naruto could see that she was getting irritated. And while he didn't particularly agree with her, he didn't want to push the subject. She probably had her reasons anyway—she was always careful, so maybe she had something else in the works and he should just drop it.

"I'm getting deja vu with the three of us on the road again."

Sakura crossed her legs on her sleeping bag, sitting up stiffly. "Yeah."

"The last time it was just the three of us… that was when we met Idate, huh?"

Sakura nodded, although she didn't seem to really be there.

"Man, we were so young back then," he added quietly.

These days, it was rare for him to see her true, unguarded self. Sometimes it would make an appearance, but it was always brief—something foreign would always flash across her eyes, eventually pulling her back into distant withdrawal. He wanted to shake her shoulders and tell her to wake the hell up.

After a few minutes, Sakura got up too. She put her toothbrush in her pouch and trekked in the opposite direction that Sasuke had gone.

Naruto reflected on his previous words

_She still loves you, you know. Kakashi too. We'll be a family again._

But what he didn't know was if Sakura was still _in_ love with Sasuke.

x

_Itachi,_

_We missed you at the rendezvous point. We'll be in Yukkao by tomorrow evening. Meet us there._

_-Sakura_

It was in vain, she knew.

_Fuck!_

Doom and panic began to nibble at her insides. Everything was going very, very wrong.

She took out her toothbrush and aggressively brushed while looking at her reflection in the water, the blank paper sprawled across the flat rock beside her.

 _Think, damn it_.

At some point, Itachi stopped receiving her messages—they weren't coming.

Had she mishandled the scroll?

She didn't know what was more frightening—the fury that would be unleashed on her if it was her fault that the scroll stopped working, or the fact that now she'd essentially have to live in close quarters with her enemies for the next three weeks with no obvious way out.

_21\. Straight. Days._

What if she was found out? Sasuke had a knack for always doing _exactly_ the opposite of what she wanted, and it wouldn't be far-fetched for him to become even more suspicious than he already was, for whatever reason she didn't know.

And the Jinchuriki. He kept watching her _every_ move—it felt like she didn't have room to _breathe_.

But the worst part of all—what if someone attacked them? She couldn't let either of the two run off and get killed. What would she say then?

" _Oops, my mistake?"_

That wouldn't go over well with Itachi.

No, she needed to keep them alive, like her life depended on it. Because now it did.

 _Get a grip_ , she screamed inside her own head.

She splashed her face with some cold water.

_Alright. New plan._

She had to turn this around.

_Think._

Now, she was going to Iwa to deliver a scroll on behalf of Hidden Leaf, whether she liked it or not.

In any case, it would be bad for Akatsuki if the two villages formed an official alliance.

The Tsuchikage was an exploitative individual. _Yes._ She could somehow use it to her advantage. If he came under the impression that Akatsuki would win, he'd want to be on the winning side.

That was a start.

No matter what she came out here to do, she couldn't deny that now, at least until she had a better alternative, there'd have to be a Team 7 again.

x

Her teammates were already in their sleeping bags when she returned. The Jinchuriki was passed out, snoring with the empty trail mix bag on his stomach. Messily, he sprawled atop of his sleeping bag with a smile in his sleep.

Jeez. He couldn't even get inside his sleeping bag.

Not to mention, he'd positioned himself right next to her, and that meant she'd probably have to fall asleep listening to something intimate like his breathing. Obviously he was a living creature and so he had to breathe, but thinking about it weirded her out. She was humanizing _a vessel_ and she didn't like it. It was too close for comfort.

Akatsuki always slept in the cold, in the dark.

Now, they'd set up around a blazing campfire, under the stars, like their stupid Genin selves having a slumber party.

Disgusting.

She dropped her pouch next to her belongings and laid down, bundling up her cloak and putting it behind her. As soon as her head hit her makeshift pillow, she felt fatigue begin to overtake her. Her eyelids become heavy. Sweet sleep was just around the corner when—

A gasp. Troubled breathing.

Sakura opened one eye.

She lifted her head and looked around, craning her neck to locate the perpetrator.

It was coming from their own camp, she realized. Not only that—it was coming from Sasuke.

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to her side so that her back was facing both of her teammates. She pressed her bundled cloak against the exposed ear, trying to muffle the sound.

It took a few tries, but she found just the right spot.

_Ah._

That was better.

Again, her eyelids become heavy. Sweet sleep was just around the corner when—

_Should you really leave them like that?_

She opened an eye.

Who was that?

She looked around and saw nothing.

It was a voice in her head, from nowhere.

Aaaand she was crazy—officially. Wonderful.

Sakura reshuffled in her sleeping bag and laid on her back again, this time arms behind her head so that she could press the bundled cloak against both of her ears. Her eyelids didn't get heavy this time, but she refused to give up. She forced her eyes closed, making the entire world to go black.

She'd have to fall asleep eventually, she told herself.

She just had to stay very _very_ still… and then maybe she could—

 _They'll get sick_.

It was that voice again.

Okay, now she was getting irritated.

With a silent huff, Sakura threw the sleeping bag off and sat up cross-legged. She stared at the fire, trying to trick herself into being mesmerized by the dancing flames as ashes cracked and popped under the wood.

Within a minute, the nagging sensation came back.

It seemed the universe wouldn't allow her to get any peace until she did its bidding.

With an exasperated sigh, she pushed herself off the floor and decided to tend to the man who apparently forgot how to breathe in his sleep.

She walked up to Sasuke's sleeping form hesitantly, unsure of what misfortune awaited her if she actually had to help him do something as simple as breathe.

Her face fell at the sight.

His eyebrows were furrowed and he was sweating. Not from heat—likely from some form of night terrors. His entire body was tense and he was breathing hard, almost like he was running from something in his sleep. She'd never seen anything so severe.

There was no way his body was resting properly. He'd just be a burden if she didn't do anything about it now.

Sakura placed a glowing hand carefully on his forehead, pushing away his raven hair to soothe him with her chaka. While matters of the brain were not her area of expertise, she could at least compartmentalize his nightmares and prevent them from disturbing his sleep by balancing his electro-chemical signals.

His pained expression fell away, and she lifted her hand to observe her work.

He looked so young when he slept. Flashes of his twelve year old self suddenly came to mind. Back in the day, she'd steal glances at him and revel in whatever morsels of him she could get, like an amorous pup at the dinner table. He looked so harmless right now; so vulnerable to the world. It was almost hard to picture how he could wake up and be infuriating all over again. _Almost._

Satisfied with her work, she got up to leave.

Along the way back to her own sleeping bag, she sauntered over to the Jincuriki's sleeping figure and pulled the thin blanket across his stomach. She only could have guessed that he was dreaming about ramen with that goofy look on his face.

He shifted comfortably.

Sakura laid down with her eyes looking at the stars, now thinking too much to fall asleep.

Back in Konoha, she was Akatsuki and the two young shinobi were her enemies. It was cut and dry; black and white.

Out here, the lines were getting blurrier by the second. She could only hope for Itachi to find her sooner rather than later.

* * *

Someone set fire to her lungs.

Sakura clutched her throat and shot up from her sleeping bag. The haze of sleep was shocked out of her system as she struggled to breathe the smoky air—it was laced with something she didn't recognize.

She strained to keep her eyes open, but she couldn't see anything through the stinging air which triggered heavy tears to roll down her face.

Suddenly she felt a blade tracing the skin underneath her jaw, its pointy mouth threatening to shed blood at a single wrong move.

"Stay still and you won't get hurt," a man said into her ear. "We came for the Uchiha."

* * *

_**To be continued…** _


	14. A Walk Down Memory Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfic is rated M, especially onward (themes of psychological trauma and violence).

They were being ambushed.

The poison in the air caused Sakura to wheeze with the faint taste of iron on her tongue. The distant clanging of metal on metal told her that a battle was already being fough, but her lungs shreiked their protests when she tried to move and prevented her from participating.

She'd have to worry about the Jinchuriki and Sasuke later. The man holding her hostage was obscured from view, her foggy vision and weakened state masking his identity even though he was right beside her. Sakura coughed some more—

A woman's chilling scream penetrated the air.

Sakura froze. The hair on her arms stood on end. Goosebumps erupted over her exposed arms.

It was a woman she knew.

The familiarity sent a flood of memories through Sakura's body, from years and years ago when things were much simpler and she was just a blossoming kunoichi living a simple life in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Please! We'll give you what you want, don't hurt him," the voice sobbed.

There was no doubt in Sakura's mind.

_Mom._

It was a dream. It had to be.

"Please!" the woman cried again.

Sakura felt the seeds of panic begin to take root. Had the poison she inhaled killed her so swiftly? Was this heaven?

There was just one problem. While the lingering hint of poison faded from the air by now, the crippling pain in Sakura's lungs informed her that she was very much still alive, and this wasn't heaven.

 _Oh god, it hurts,_ Sakura thought as she clutched her chest.

Whatever she inhaled must've triggered some kind of genjutsu. It was a cruel trick but she wouldn't be taken for a fool—the alternative was just impossible, and Sakura stopped believing in miracles a long time ago.

 _Release,_ she commanded her body.

But something was still wrong. Looking around, she realized that her surroundings hadn't changed either—the air felt the same as before, and nothing in her body told her that her chakra was disturbed.

It wasn't genjutsu.

"Let us go," the woman sobbed.

She could still hear her mother's voice clear as day.

The panic in the pit of her stomach morphed into uncontrollable heavy knots, taking on a whole new life form of their own.

By now, the hazy fog began to clear from the air around them. With its departure came the threat to unmask the mystery behind the woman's voice.

Along with that grew Sakura's shaky breath and excruciating anxiety.

And then she finally saw it.

Her parents.

One enemy shinobi tied her mother to a tree. Another held her father by his hair.

Sakura knew it was humanly impossible, yet she couldn't deny her five senses telling her what was unfolding right in front of her.

Logic was gone. It was like reality itself became an abstraction. Like they'd suddenly broken free of the meanings once assigned to the categories of life and death.

"Stop!" Sakura tried to tell the enemy.

The shinobi wrapped a wire string around her father's neck, unimpressed when his prey began thrashing his arms. Another enemy restrained her father's two feet, securing them against the grass.

"It's too late for you," the first shinobi said with a sick smile. "You've gotten me started."

"Mebuki! Look away!" her father yelled.

Biting the end of the wire string with his front teeth, the enemy grabbed a kunai from his side pouch and forced her father's hand away from his neck where he was trying to pull himself free. "Being a shinobi gets boring," he drawled, inspecting her father's hand, feigning admiration at how strong and sturdy his victim's fingers looked. "It's always 'kill this and that'... but when do we ever get a chance to stop and smell the roses?" A twisted curl of his lips became a maniac laugh as he traced the outline of her father's palm with the weapon.

Sakura started to move. _Dad! Don't worry—I'm coming!_

Her legs were only two heavy stumps, uselessly trapped underneath her body.

Her father whimpered, flinching every time the cold blade grazed a new sensitive spot in his palm.

Without warning, the enemy plunged the tip of the kunai into her father's index finger, right under his nail.

Sakura heard the screams of agony and the squelching sound of wet flesh as the enemy psychotically twisted the kunai and penetrated the fresh wound over and over again.

"Your finger's starting to look like mush," he said, plunging in once more. "And look! Your nail's just sliding right off."

Sakura's heart felt like it was being torn in two. She wanted to assure her father that she could fix him with the special medical ninjutsu she'd learned since they last saw each other. That she would take away the pain.

But all she could manage was a strained whisper—her condition too wretched for anyone but herself to hear.

The shinobi pushed further into her father's mutilated hand once more, and then as if he was a child grown bored of his toy, he shrugged and sliced off all of her father's digits one by one. "I think I'll take this as a souvenir," he said over the sounds of shrieking. "It's not every day we get to take the scenic route."

"Stop playing around man," the second shinobi said. "Just finish him off, already."

"No!" Her mother shrieked with the front of her shirt drenched in tears, twisting violently until the back of her head hit the tree too many times.

Sakura shut her eyes, cursing her own uselessness. "I'll take his place!"

Again, her shouts only came out as hoarse cries. It felt like someone had poured acid down her dry, inflamed throat, or like she was forced to swallow glass.

Sakura tried again. She didn't care if she'd never be able to use her voice again. She didn't care that she was probably incoherently crying. She didn't care about anything except that she needed to do something, give _everything_ to take her father's place, just so that he wouldn't have to bear the pain any longer.

"Take me instead..." Sakura pleaded.

As soon as she mouthed those words, she heard the squeak of the wire string around her father's neck. A fleshy piece of skin was caught where the threads intersected, and he winced from the pain. Sakura could hear him gasping for breath, his eyes bulging as they made contact with her horrified expression.

The shinobi pulled.

Chakra flowed through the wire in hand, tightening until it pinched her father's jugular to the point where it squeezed and squeezed until the trunk of his neck began to burst. Dark crimson, almost black fluid exploded onto her father's shirt and soaked the ground beneath his knees.

Sakura shut her eyes.

She couldn't block out the sound. It was the suffocating, miserable sound, of gurgling blood spraying onto the grass even after her father's body hit the ground. Sakura's own breathing became frantic and she gagged, but her stomach was too empty for the reflex to expel anything from her body.

Her own father. Tortured and killed before her very eyes. And she did nothing. What kind of a worthless piece of shit was she?

"Now that _that's_ out of the way…" The enemy stepped over her father's dead corpse and approached her mother, as if finishing up an appetizer and preparing for the main course.

"You're a sick bastard," said the other, as if he was paying a compliment to his comrade.

"Only when I get in the mood. What say we have a little _fun_ with the other one?"

When Sakura looked up, she saw that her mother's head was slumped forward. Her body looked too weak to react to the verbal taunts of their enemies, as if her resolve to live was gone. When she was released from her bounds, she fell to the grass without resistance.

"Stop ignoring me!" Sakura tried to scream again. "Just stop it!"

Something broke within her. She began to weep uncontrollably. Her own voice became foreign as her mind became severed from her body. The pain in her chest was unbearable, like her rib cage had splintered and sent pieces into her heart like shards of glass. "Mom, dad…"

"Hold her up like that. I'll get rid of her clothes."

 _No. No no no no…,_ Sakura begged.

"It's been a while since I've gotten laid," the second said with a hint of eagerness.

_Please, no._

"Fuck! We won't make it—let's pull back for now!"

Something that was previously restraining her was released.

Sakura remembered that a third shinobi was supposed to be holding her hostage, but it withdrew as soon as she noticed it again. Three shadows disappeared.

She was left on the ground in fetal position.

She lost sense of time. She couldn't even figure out how to pace her breathing—if one second was one minute or if time was moving much slower than that.

Her lungs and diaphragm felt like fragile balloons inside of her, like she had to put her whole being into making them inflate otherwise she would suffocate and die. But she could only do so irregularly, never quite grasping a good breath, and soon she felt convulsions take over her body.

She was hyperventilating.

The world spun.

She was going to pass out.

"I've got you Sakura," a blurry voice echoed.

Familiar hands reached out and pulled her towards warmth, enveloping her in a protective embrace. All opposition left her body as she cried and whimpered and allowed herself to be comforted.

"I know what you saw. It wasn't real," the voice soothed, trying to coax her out of her head so that she could be grounded in the present. "It wasn't real."

The world kept spinning. Her chest was tight, her heart a sledgehammer threatening to break her from inside. Her eyelids fluttered.

"Shit," the voice said. "We need to increase the carbon dioxide levels in your blood. I'm going to cup my hand over your mouth—try to breathe normally, alright?"

She nodded faintly with her knees tucked into her chest, helplessly leaning to the side against the chest of her protector. He brought his arm around her head, covering her mouth with a careful hand just as she'd been warned.

"Breath," he said gently.

She obeyed.

After a while, her quick breathing turned to slow, gentle breaths, and the hand covering her mouth vanished.

Her body was still limp, but her hands desperately grasped onto the shirt of the man holding her. Sakura didn't know how badly she needed the help, and now, she never, ever wanted to let go.

"I'm not going anywhere," the voice assured. "You're safe with me. I promise."

She found herself being comforted by the way the shirt smelled. Little details like that helped keep her consciousness occupied as she fought to get a hold of herself.

"Sakura!" Another voice came. "Is she okay?!"

The arrival of the second voice brought a wave of bright chakra, warming the air around her.

"Quiet, dobe," the first said, still holding her. "She'll be alright."

"Give her to me. I'll carry her," the second voice said.

As she felt the body next to her shift, her senses dulled.

* * *

Sakura woke up heaving in a frenzy.

She moved her hands and patted her surroundings, frantically. Her fingertips were met with bundled up bed sheets at her sides.

She was in bed? Was it a dream?

Couldn't be. She didn't feel the cold night air and she didn't see the stars lighting up the sky above her.

She was somewhere else.

Fighting the urge to fall back asleep, Sakura squinted in the dark to determine where she was. As her eyes adjusted, she realized that she was in what looked like an inn. The absence of sunlight through the window told her that it was late.

How long had she slept?

"Sakura!"

She heard knocking on her door.

_Sasuke._

Her throat was dry like there was a desert in her mouth. The noise at her door wasn't helping with her splitting headache, either.

She felt disoriented, but she started to remember what happened.

Mustering up the marvelously small amount of strength she'd recovered, Sakura stumbled out of bed, leaning a hand against the wall to keep her upright as she approached the cracks of light from the hallway outside.

She opened the door and was met with alert eyes.

"You screamed," he said. His voice was almost demanding.

She held her hand up to shield herself from the burning artificial light. It suddenly occurred to her that she probably looked like hell. Her eyelids felt swollen and her cheeks felt puffy. But she couldn't care less how she looked—all she wanted was to tell Sasuke to go away.

But her throat hurt like she had strep and she needed water if she had any chance at telling him to leave. With the door still open, she made her way back inside her room to the table where she saw her backpack sitting.

He followed her inside. She could feel him stare at her back, although he didn't say anything. _Yet._

Sakura dug through her pack and fumbled around until she felt her leathery waterskin. She tossed her head back and chugged the whole thing, cold water spilling from the corner of her mouth with how carelessly thirsty she was.

"You need to go back to sleep."

"I will," she managed to say, barely. Her voice cracked and sounded scratchy as hell. "Have you seen Naruto?"

"He's out."

"How long have I been sleeping for?"

"A day."

"What time is it?"

"Late."

He was clearly choosing to be more irritating than descriptive, but Sakura didn't have the energy to fight back.

"You should drink more water," he said. He grabbed her waterskin from her hands before she could voice her protest, and moments later disappeared into the hallway as she climbed back into bed.

She felt herself dozing off within seconds.

* * *

Violent, gory images of her parents startled her awake.

Sakura shot out of bed.

Her immediate instinct was to allow her thoughts to run wild with questions again—where was she? How did she get here? What happened?

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness once more, she saw her waterskin sitting beside her, plump with water.

That's right. Sasuke had refilled it for her.

It was obvious that she'd been poisoned. But with what? Over the past years, she'd worked hard at immunotherapy to boost her tolerance to the majority of poisons found in the area. A hallucinogenic of that caliber shouldn't have even been possible.

She heard things—her parents. Saw them. _Felt_ them.

And that begged the question—was there a chance that it _was_ real? And that she somehow saw the last minutes leading up to their deaths? She was never told what exactly happened to her parents, and in a way, not knowing was better. She just knew that joining Akatsuki was the only way forward.

Did it matter?

Even now, as she rationalized it to herself, it was like her body was still swimming in the experience—real or not, the stale sweat at her brow, her shaking fingers, the fear and dread coursing through her veins in the motionless dark room, all of it was too much to bear.

Sakura felt anxiety begin to dig its thorny talons into her again. It seemed like no matter how she tried to sleep, she wasn't able to get enough peace to rest.

Another knock on her door startled her.

"Sakura," a voice called from outside.

 _Sasuke._ It was the second time he was checking up on her.

Sakura began to recall the events again. When had they become so cordial? He'd been the one to calm her down when they were on the field, and now he was visiting her like they were friends? It was a part of him she never knew existed.

Sakura remembered just last night when he held her tightly, urgently, like he was protecting all that was dear to him. All her usual defenses abandoned her at the last minute, forcing her to depend on him for comfort.

A far cry from when he almost killed her just a few days ago. They were the same pair of hands. And that made her _very_ uncomfortable.

The knocking became more persistent.

Sakura swallowed once and then willed herself to get up to open the door for him. It was a bit awkward now that some formalities had been broken. She'd need to repair the shattered pieces of what was once calculated distance and reservation towards him.

"What do you want? I'm trying to sleep," she said impatiently.

"I know. You're doing a terrible job."

She scoffed. "I sleep great."

"You wake up every fifteen minutes. I can feel it all the way from my room."

Damn. Had it only been that long since she last woke up?

"Is Naruto back yet?" she asked.

"No."

Her stomach sank.

She'd hoped to ask the Jinchuriki to keep her company while she slept. She hadn't realized how comforting his chakra really was until the incident, and she really needed the sleep. In fact, she was desperate.

Sasuke took her silence as a question for more information, so he continued. "He's out. Meditating. Won't be done with training for a while."

Dreading the idea of going back into the darkness by herself, she stood in the doorframe awkwardly.

"Try to go back to sleep," he said as he turned around and headed back to his room.

"Wait," she called after him. She was just going to be a burden otherwise. "I can't sleep."

Sakura clenched her jaw to mask the embarrassment.

It didn't work. Her body betrayed her, the suspense of what he'd say twisting in her stomach, signalling that she was indeed thoroughly embarrassed at the hint she was trying to drop.

He paused, processing her words.

The silence hovered unrelentingly.

_Oh god._

He might just tell her to fuck off again.

That would be mortifying.

Finally, Sasuke sighed and motioned for her to move out of the way so he could follow her back into her room.

At least he didn't make her ask out loud. Had to thank the small mercies.

When they were surrounded by the darkness again, Sakura climbed under her sheets on the very edge of the bed. She reached to the side of her nightstand, where thankfully a remote control was placed conveniently. She turned on the TV to get rid of the awkward silence that had grown exponentially in the last few seconds.

Sasuke hung by the corridor, as if he was contemplating what to do with himself.

Was he just going to stand there all night?

Sakura looked at him, to where she saw he was looking, and back to him.

_Oh no._

He was staring at the bed.

Was he thinking of getting under the sheets?

_Don't do it. Please don't do it._

With a reluctant sigh, he sat on the opposite side, resting against the headboard with his arms crossed.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as he demonstrated the good sense not to get under the covers with her.

It was almost like he was just as stiff as she was. Only half of his body was on the bed, leaving one of his legs dangling off the edge like he couldn't decide between sitting as far away as possible from her or being remotely comfortable.

Mercilessly, the awkwardness in the room dragged on, and she almost wondered if solitude was better. The only semblance of relief she felt was from the fact that it seemed she wasn't the only one harboring self-consciousness about the recent events between them.

Actors and actresses were pouring their hearts out on the screen, the changing colors and lights of the TV bouncing and reflecting off the walls around them.

Sakura wasn't really watching. She kept glancing at the side of Sasuke's face instead.

It was the last thing she saw before she drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke snuck out of Sakura's room and tried to get back into his own room, where he was met with inquisitive blue eyes.

At first, Naruto thought that he went out for training and didn't come back.

Sasuke didn't correct him.

On the other hand, Sakura hadn't met his gaze all morning. In fact, he'd say she was actively trying to ignore him now.

 _So they were back to this,_ he thought. Her little game of indifference.

Not that Sasuke minded, actually. He had things to process.

He wasn't exactly sure of what came over him that night—his body had just moved on its own, and he said words that came out of nowhere.

_I'm not going anywhere. You're safe with me._

That's what he said, wasn't it?

And then last night. That was a first. It was more fitting to tell a fellow shinobi to suck it up than to do what he did.

"We're two days behind schedule." Sakura huddled around her steaming cup of tea, visibly reveling in the small amount of warmth it offered. "Iwa will be expecting us in around three days, and we're barely past Fire Country."

"Well… Sakura-chan, you aren't exactly _light,_ and this was the closest place we found, _"_ Naruto teased.

Sasuke smirked when she looked unsettled.

"Kidding! Anyway, it was important for you to rest up and get your strength back. " Naruto broke his chopsticks and began to wolf down his ramen. "Who else is going to keep me in check?" he said with his mouth full.

"But there's something that bothers me about what happened," Sakura said in a more serious tone. "You guys remember Hokage-sama telling us about the disappearances, right?"

Naruto nodded. "You think that they're somehow related?"

"I don't know, maybe. It's just bizarre for us to be attacked in Fire Country," she said.

 _And that's why shinobi set traps,_ Sasuke thought to himself. It must've nice to have warm and fuzzy feelings about Fire Country, which is no doubt what his two teammates had. Still, how _naive_ —not setting traps just because they were "at home"? Rookie mistake.

"But the strangest part of it all is the way they ambushed us," Sakura continued.

"You have a problem with the _way_ they ambushed us?" Naruto asked incredulously. "I think it's weird that we were ambushed in the first place."

"She doesn't mean it like that. She means the poison," Sasuke said, speaking up for the first time.

"It wasn't meant to kill us," she agreed. "And why take a hostage? Even if the target was you, Sasuke, why not kill me while they had the chance?"

"Bah! Now you're just paranoid." Naruto leaned into his chair, turning up his nose.

"Think about it," Sasuke insisted. "On our _first_ night out. Right after you two said we'd be _safe_ in our own country. They specifically targeted _me_ and left both of you alive. It's too weird."

For some reason, the assassins didn't _want_ to kill Sakura and Naruto, and that's why they needed a non-lethal poison—they only wanted to do any real damage to _him._ But the only way that would've happen would be if—

A disturbing thought crossed his mind. Could it be that the hit came from... _Konoha_?

But where would they have gotten the poison? This poison—particularly its side effects—had very few potential uses in battle, and someone had even fewer reasons to develop it. Not to mention the skill that it would've required to do so.

Sasuke watched as Sakura finished up the last of her pastry and dusted off her fingers.

No, nevermind. It wasn't something that Leaf would have just sitting around. Sakura would have mentioned it if that were the case. Maybe he _was_ just being paranoid.

Both of his teammates suddenly got up from their chairs, signaling that it was time to go.

"Our first priority should be delivering the scroll. We should only investigate further if we have reason to believe that it's somehow tied to Iwa. We should get going," Sakura said.

Sasuke nodded, though he knew he'd continue pondering this long after their conversation died. "I'll handle the bill. Meet you guys outside."

As his teammates left, he saw a shadow move from the corner of his eye.

_The hell—_

He turned his head and scanned the area.

There was only an empty window. Nobody was sitting on that side of the room. He could've sworn—

"That'll be 200 ryo sir," said the polite middle-aged owner of the tea shop.

Sasuke handed over a few bills, now troubled by the fact that he couldn't shake the eerie feeling that somebody was still watching him.

"Thank you and come again!"

Sasuke bowed and headed out the door. He looked over to the window one more time, hesitating for a moment before deciding to check if what he'd seen was just a figment of his imagination.

He'd better check. Better to be wrong than stay paranoid.

He made his way to the back door, which automatically took him around the back perimeter of the teahouse to where the same window peered inward.

 _It's empty,_ he realized.

But then his eyes trickled lower, and he froze.

There was a pair of fresh footprints, pointed directly at where they were sitting.

* * *

"Just our luck," Sakura overheard someone say. "Leaf ninja always leave a bad taste in my mouth."

 _Are they referring to us?_ She thought as she looked around. There were no other Leaf ninja around—at least not that she could see.

And then her eyes found them—two shinobi leaning against the wooden fence outside the entrance of the tea shop, looking right at her. The symbols on their forehead protectors indicated they were from Iwa.

One of them was an average-sized man with dusty brown hair and a round face. His nose was a bit too big for the rest of his features, and his square glasses were an awkward fit. He was accompanied by a woman.

Sakura couldn't help but judge her for looking like she spent too much time on her appearance.

"Speak for yourself," the woman told her companion, eyeing Sakura scornfully. "Some of us don't bother to concern ourselves with _nobodies_."

At her side, the Jinchuriki narrowed his eyes, now a few shades of a darker blue than they usually were. He looked like he was itching to fight.

Should she stop them? Sakura needed to covertly sabotage an alliance between Iwa and Leaf anyway. And a little street scuffle between Iwa-nin and Leaf's Jinchuriki wouldn't hurt her cause would it?

_But it wouldn't be wise._

There was that nagging voice again.

Perhaps it'd be too out of character and suspicious for her to sit back and do nothing. If only she hadn't been such a damned goody two-shoes in Konoha.

"What did you say?" the Jinchuriki asked with a careful, low voice.

_You have to stop the fight._

_Oh, fine,_ Sakura said inwardly. She lamented at the possibility that she had schizophrenia.

"Naruto, ignore them," Sakura whispered harshly.

"Say that again. I'll kick your ass!"

The Jinchuriki was ignoring her instead, it seemed.

"Come with me, Naruto," Sakura said with a sing-songy voice as she looped herself around his arm and began to pull in the opposite direction. "Let's go see what's taking Sasuke so long."

"Someone needs to put a leash on their dog," the Iwa kunoichi said.

Sakura almost face-palmed. _Shut up, lady! I'm trying to_ help _you!_ she yelled in her own head. She wouldn't be able to stop the Jinchuriki by herself if he got too riled up. She'd have to cut the conversation off now.

"I don't know who you think you are—"

She put her hand on the blonde's ear and yanked, cutting him off. "I said _shut it_."

"Ow, Sakura—let me go—"

"What happened? I thought you were going to kick my ass!" the Iwa-nin taunted.

Everything went downhill from there.

Somehow the Jinchuriki managed to weasel his way out of her hold on his ear, and Sakura saw a flash of orange darting forward before she could get a good grasp on his jacket. She braced herself for a _crunch_ of someone's nose as the two men exchanged blows.

Someone caught fists from both sides. "I apologize for my teammates' behavior."

"J-Jun!"

The Jinchuriki snapped first, abruptly withdrawing a hand and tossing another heated glance at the perpetrator who seemed to appear from nowhere. "You guys had better watch it," he said. "You're not in your home country. It's only fitting to behave with respect."

"I couldn't agree more," Jun said as he bowed his apology. He shot a glare at both of his teammates, and they reluctantly followed suit. "We're headed towards Konoha as diplomatic liasons on behalf of Iwa. My name is Jun. These are my teammates, Hado and Yui."

"Diplomatic liaison? The Tsuchikage is sending you to see the Hokage?" the Jinchuriki asked, as if he suddenly forgot all his anger.

Sakura sighed—it didn't take much to distract him. Although that might come in handy later.

"We've given notice to Konoha that we'll arrive tomorrow and stay for a day, to start. Of course, building relations does take time. If we'd known that Leaf featured such beautiful kunoichi, we'd have come a lot sooner."

It took a while for Sakura to realize that Jun was talking about _her_.

While his two teammates left much to be desired, Sakura could see why Jun was tasked with diplomacy matters. Not only did he share the same effortlessly cool demeanor as Genma, Shizune's teammate, but he was also just as handsome as she imagined Genma was at their age. Sakura couldn't deny that her eyes wandered a little more than they should've.

His two teammates began to leave.

"If you're finished, Jun, let's go," said Yui. "I don't want to stand here any longer than I have to."

"Coming, princess," Jun said sarcastically. As he turned around, he gave a polite nod to the Jinchuriki and flashed a grin at Sakura. "Hope to run into you guys again."

Sakura and her teammate waited in quiet confusion as the Iwa-nin turned the corner to where the road was.

"What a jerk."

 _Jerk?_ Sakura wondered. "I thought he was nice."

"What—don't tell me you liked that crap! What a corny, smooth-talking loser," he ranted.

She only smiled, seeing her teammate so heated over it. She felt a second familiar chakra approach.

"We're being watched," Sasuke said as he joined them.

"Yeah, by Mr. Hearthrob and his goons."

"What?" Sasuke shook his head, exasperated by the Jinchuriki's antics. "No, I mean someone's watching us." His looked around carefully before continuing in a hushed voice. "It might be related to the other night. Even if Naruto was able to fend them off, I don't think they gave up."

That seemed to sober the team up.

"Well there's more where that came from," the blonde said. "I've been meaning to test Sage-mode on someone other than old-froggy Fukusaku."

"No. We need to lay low until we get closer to Iwa. I don't even think we should advertise ourselves as Leaf shinobi, even to civilians. It'll be problematic if they gossip and lead more enemies to us, or if our tails find us again."

Well they could start now, since they'd already been spotted by Iwa-nin. But Sasuke didn't need to know that, since it seemed they were headed to Konoha as do-gooders.

The Jinchuriki looked like he was unwilling to part with the status quo, fidgeting with his forehead protector that carried so much of his pride. "If you guys say so..." He unraveled it and put it in his pouch.

Then Sasuke suddenly turned all of his attention to Sakura.

Her breath hitched with how intense his gaze felt.

"Can you do something about your hair, too?"

 _My hair…?_ It was the one distinguishing feature that she felt might help Itachi find them, if he was looking. Knowing him, he probably was. Actually, there was a good chance that whoever Sasuke felt was watching them might have been Akatsuki.

"Civilians can have pink hair too," Sakura tried to say.

"Aw come on, Sasuke! That's the best part about her!"

Sasuke studied her, eyes darting from her hair to her forehead before settling on her face. "Fine, whatever. You're _captain_ ," he said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed toward their inn again.

Damn, was _he_ moody today.

* * *

Sakura heard running footsteps from across the hall, coming from her teammates' room. Judging from their voices, it wasn't good.

She collected the last of her things—not that there was much—and hoisted her backpack over her shoulder, ready to check out of their inn and continue north.

"What do you mean you lost it?!" The Jinchuriki shouted.

"I'm not happy about it either," Sasuke retorted as he flung a stray sock out of the way. "Shut up or help, please."

Sakura cleared her throat and knocked on the door frame, as to not startle them out of their bickering. "What did we lose?"

The annoyed expression she received from Sasuke was not directed at her, she knew. She stifled a smirk as he resembled his pouty 12-year old self just then.

"The scroll. It's gone."

All her thoughts came to a screeching halt. "It's _what?_ "

Just then, a biting cold wind flew into the room, sending the curtains flying and some loose papers amok. Sakura shivered as her cloak blew backwards, leaving the skin on her thighs exposed.

Seeing this, Naruto jumped to shut the window. "Sasuke, I thought we were keeping this closed and locked?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "We were." The undertone in his statement indicated that the situation might not have been a simple misplacement of their mission items.

"Oh. Then why did you unlock it?" the Jinchuriki asked innocently.

"I didn't."

"Sakura, then? I didn't see you come into our room, though."

Clearly, the blonde was the last in the room to connect the dots at the implication.

"Idiot, that's because she _didn't._ Someone _else_ was here."

* * *

"I don't know anything, I swear," the innkeeper said as he backed himself against a tall bookcase. He brought his shaky hands to his center as if to beg for forgiveness. "No one else is allowed into the rooms without the key."

Sakura stood in between her teammates, a little farther back, watching the scene unfold from over their shoulders.

From what she could see, Sasuke hadn't done or said anything before the man was reduced to a jumble of nerves. If anything, her teammate was only frustrated at himself for not having the scroll anymore, but the poor innkeeper probably didn't know that.

Fingers still shaking, the older man reached into his pocket and held up a ring from which a few keys loosely dangled. "When someone checks in, I give them a key. There's only one of each," he said, desperately trying to prove that he wasn't lying.

Sakura frowned. It wasn't a regular thief. She could think of many ninjutsu that might be able to open a window from the outside.

Jun's team came to mind. But why would they go out of their way to take something that was already being gifted to them? And even if they didn't know about the gift, Jun was their way to Konoha to make amends. Stealing property was hardly in alignment with that goal.

The Jinchuriki looked from Sasuke back to the innkeeper a couple times, processing what unspoken dialogue was happening between the two. "Anosa... Sasuke, I think you should try a different approach." He held up a hand, as if to signal that they weren't a threat. "We know you didn't steal the scroll. We believe that it was a professional. But they probably realized that it's useless without instructions, so they'll probably sell it off. Are there any pawn shops nearby?"

Even from the side of his head, Sakura could see that their raven-haired teammate was genuinely surprised that the added communication seemed to help. The innkeeper, now calm enough to think coherently, suddenly became much more helpful. "Of course there are. There's dozens and dozens of pawn shops in the next city up north, but your scroll is as good as gone—I wouldn't even bother."

"Where is it?" Sakura asked.

"It's called Yukkao," he continued. "The place is downright filthy. Even if you think you've seen it all before, stay away. Nobody leaves unchanged. There's something cursed about it."

What was this man going on about…?

People in this town sure had a knack for over exaggeration. It sounded like something mothers would tell their kids before bedtime. Mythical folklore or not, Team 7 had no choice at this rate.

"Thank you," Sakura said, turning away. She ignored the inn-keeper's continued warnings as her teammates followed, closing the door behind them.

"I wonder why it sounds so familiar," the Jinchuriki pondered. "Isn't that where baa-chan told us to go?"

"The city of vice," Sakura affirmed.

"But why wouldn't baa-chan tell us that the place was _cursed?_ "

True, a warning from Princess Tsunade would've been nice. But Sakura wasn't sold on the tall-tale. Maybe the place wasn't good for civilians, but they were elite shinobi. They could handle it.

"Hey Sasuke—you've seen things," the Jinchuriki said. "How bad do you think it could really be?"

Their stoic teammate gave him the side-eye, probably for the less-than-tactful way he framed the question. "Let's find out."

* * *

**To be continued…**


	15. Vice

The three prohibitions for shinobi are:

1\. Alcohol

2\. Lust

3\. Money

* * *

"I take ye aren't here for a loan," the snake-oil salesman said with a quiver.

Sasuke pulled hard on the rope.

The man grimaced from the burning friction against his wrists, but then a second later he exaggerated a pleasured sigh. "Oh, baby. That's _good_."

"Stop fucking around." Sasuke shoved the man into the wall for the second time. He was not in the mood for this bastard's sick games. "Talk."

It was the sixth pawn shop and the third inquiry-turned-interrogation that day. They hadn't gotten anywhere. By now, _especially_ now, Sasuke's patience withered to non-existence—not without help from the salesman's fetishization of his situation.

"I thought I smelled shinobi," the shop owner said as he spat bloody saliva onto his own floor. "Turns out I was right."

HE saw Sakura frown. "We only tied you up because you tried to run," she said.

"'Cus I saw that guy comin' in with that crazy expression on his face, lookin' like he wanted to kill me!"

 _Because I'm sick of your shit,_ Sasuke said in his mind.

"See?! Look!" the man exclaimed accusingly, pointing directly at him.

"Sasuke," Naruto gently commanded.

When they made eye contact, Sasuke understood and stepped back to allow Naruto some space. "Fine. He's yours."

"Listen. It ain't personal, but no one in their right mind would tell ye anythin', not as long as one of us knows. Not even me, even if ye threatened to kill me." The shop owner jutted a thumb into his own chest as if to accentuate the point. "I don't look it, but I'm loyal."

Sasuke didn't buy it. Self-proclaimed statements were always bullshit. And loyalty had a price. _Always._

"Wait a minute—what do you mean by _'_ as long as one of us knows'?" Naruto asked.

"That's how it works. Us pawners have an unspoken rule to not work with shinobi. Too many complications—case in point," he said as he eyed Sasuke warily. "We talk. There are no secrets in this business. Not even _dirty_ ones." The shop owner explicitly stared at Sakura's chest and licked his lips.

Sasuke had to restrain himself from giving the man another go.

"Even if I did pawn _extraordinary_ items, which I don't, I wouldn't tell ye. Not unless I wanted to get blacklisted. That's everythin' I know—I swear it."

Well, wasn't the snake-oil salesman being cooperative now, Sasuke thought bitterly. He hadn't managed to get one decent piece of information this entire time, yet all of a sudden the man became a fountain of information as soon as Naruto asked a question. Annoying.

His blonde teammate started to cut the rope binding the shop owner's wrists before helping him stand up. "What do you mean blacklisted?"

"Look around ye," the shop owner said. "D'ya see anythin' besides common thug jewelry and heirlooms? As soon as someone gets whiff that ye do business with shinobi, yer done for."

"Then this isn't going to work," Naruto said as he laced his fingers behind his head. "We don't fit in. We won't find the scroll this way."

"Damn straight ye won't."

"Well, then how _do_ we fit in?" Sakura asked.

"Ye can't, babycakes. Not you. You look too much like a sweet, innocent _virgin_."

Sasuke watched as the shop owner took another look at Sakura. Who did this jackass think he was?

"Sasuke," Naruto warned.

"What?" Sasuke responded, irritated.

When he looked at Naruto, the blonde was staring at where his hands were.

_Oh._

Sasuke's finger had unfastened his sword, revealing an inch or two of the reflective metal. He hadn't even realized.

"I ain't gonna tell you guys how to do your jobs," the shopkeeper said defensively with two raised hands. "But… Yer in Yukkao."

Well they sure as hell weren't in Konoha. That much was obvious.

"And?" Sasuke demanded impatiently.

"Monkey see, monkey do."

* * *

Even in broad daylight, drunken lowlifes swarmed the dingy, beat-down streets like flies. It was a cesspool of degenerates, straight out of a cliche, sleazy novel.

As she walked, Sakura half wondered if they'd even need to conceal their identities. From the looks of it, even if they were spotted, nobody would remember.

"What the—"

She was suddenly thrown backwards as if her cloak had been snagged, and her legs staggered backwards from the pull.

"Eh—?!" she heard the Jinchuriki exclaim in disbelief.

Sakura blew strands of her pink hair out of her face. Then she looked to her right, where she saw an inebriated creep withdraw a hand-held mirror into his oversized sleeve. He looked at her with a disgustingly smug yellow-toothed smile. It then occurred to her that it was probably because he managed to get a good look up her skirt.

She looked behind her, and realized that Sasuke was the one who pulled her backwards.

"Get lost," the Jinchuriki said, protectively stepping in between Sakura and the source of her harassment.

The guy scampered off.

"I was going to handle it," she told her teammates.

"You're welcome," Sasuke replied. She felt his hand leave her back as he said it.

Ah, the city of Vice, true to form, where the dark side of human nature reared its ugly head in every crack and corner. And that was one hell of an introduction.

So, they really needed to find this damned scroll, Sakura thought. What did the pawn owner mean by, 'monkey see, monkey do'? And how would that help them in this situation?

They were beginning to enter the more crowded streets now, which Sakura guessed to be the downtown area of Yukkao.

She made eye contact with a couple of by passers as she led her teammates through the chaotic streets., and felt a little self-conscious when the casual glances thrown her way became outright stares from strangers like they'd never seen anyone with pink hair.

Granted, pink hair was different, but staring was rude wasn't it? For a second, she thought that maybe it would be a good idea to henge into something ordinary like blonde or brown, just to get some relief.

Actually, now that Sakura noticed, it was mostly the women staring at her.

Especially those two.

The two women couldn't have been much younger than Sakura. Dressed in short kimonos, the brunettes stood in the entryway of an old-school gambling spot located a few yards in front of her, crossing their arms to enhance their cleavage as they shamelessly batted their eyelashes.

As she got closer, the girls began giggling, becoming harder to ignore.

 _Is there something on my face?_ Sakura wondered.

"Mister… you look like trouble," said one of the women, sidestepping Sakura. An expert flip of the woman's long black tresses signaled that she was adept in the art of flirtation.

And then the realization hit—they, along with every other woman in the street, were eyeing her teammate behind her the whole time.

The woman wrapped herself around Sasuke's arm, subtly pressing her breasts onto his arm for effect.

Sakura's mouth fell open.

Why did _every_ female become a heap of stupid mush around him?

"Why don't you and your friend come in and relax," said the second woman, winking at the blonde.

The Jinchuriki looked surprised at the attention. "O-oh that's kind of you," he stammered. He gestured at Sakura and said politely, "actually, the three of us are together."

Both women then looked at Sakura, apparently seeing her for the first time.

"That's too bad," said the first, starry eyes still glued to their raven-haired teammate. "I was going to ask if you wanted to try your luck." She pouted her lips and, if it was even possible, attempted to further bury Sasuke's arm into the crevice between her breasts.

The Jinchuriki turned beet red.

"Actually, we're looking to procure a very rare item and we were hoping you could help," said Sasuke, taking the initiative. His voice had an edge to it, yet it was gentle like a purr.

A shiver ran down Sakura's spine even though his words weren't directed towards her.

"But unfortunately it isn't exactly for sale… on the regular market," he continued.

The emphasis on the last word seemed to be acknowledged by the two women, who still looked too eager to help even though the conversation had taken darker undertones. They looked around to see if anyone was listening.

"Rumor has it that the owner of this club—"

"Don't," the second woman said nervously. When she met Sasuke's gaze, she blushed and backtracked. She looked as though she didn't want to disappoint the Uchiha. "I mean—are you sure? What if they—"

"They can handle it," reassured the first woman. "There's a club located at the end of the next block. Rumor has it the owner is a black market broker. He hires dancers to size up prospects and make sure they aren't cops. It'll probably be hard to get in without anyone vouching for you."

"But that's where we would start," the second woman added. "You'll know it when you see it. Be careful—they're trained."

The sparked Sakura's curiosity. _Trained for what?_

Sasuke nodded his thanks, and then the women gave their respects before turning back to the entryway of their spot, where like predators, they laid in wait for their next prey.

Sakura followed her teammates in the direction of this mysterious club.

The stares did not stop. In fact, they just got worse. Bar girls, merchants, and by passers alike. But this time, Sakura didn't make the mistake of thinking they were aimed at her.

She looked to her stoic teammate who didn't seem to react to the attention. His bangs were pressed against his forehead underneath his black bandana, revealing his trademark onyx eyes.

Was it his hair that females liked? For the life of her, Sakura couldn't figure it out.

Sasuke briefly cast a glance at her direction and she snapped her eyes forward, casually pretending that she hadn't been staring at him either.

He was so damn full of himself. She couldn't see the appeal. _Nope._

"So how are we going to find this place?" the Jinchuriki asked. "We don't even know what it looks like."

The door of the building right next to them busted open with a loud bang, stealing the attention from all three of them at once. Fast-paced club music spilled past the plain black door, held open by a tall and muscular man as two others hauled someone onto the street.

"C'mon baby! I'm not a cop, I swear," he slurred. "And y'kno you liked it as much as me…"

A finger with a ridiculously long painted nail pointed into the street. "I know you're not," a woman spat. "You're just a fuckin' creep. Don't come back—ever!"

Sakura looked at the skinny little guy and wondered why they let him inside in the first place. His greasy slicked back hair and baggy clothes made him look like a dirty rat. He probably smelled like one too.

He scurried away when the bouncers took a threatening step towards him.

"I think we found the place," Sasuke said to their blonde teammate.

 _How convenient,_ Sakura thought. Now came the tricky part.

"How do we get inside without raising suspicion?" she asked. "We aren't dressed like we want to go clubbing."

At that moment, they all heard the incoming click clack of someone's heels. The woman, who Sakura now recognized to weld the pointy finger, emerged from the entryway.

She was headed towards them.

Sasuke suddenly turned around to Sakura, pulling the Jinchuriki with him.

"Sakura, take our backpacks. Put my sword in your cloak. _Now."_

"Huh? What—"

Both her teammates shoved all their belongings into her arms. Sasuke pulled Sakura's cloak over all the bulk, tucking away anything visible except for her face.

_You've got to be fucking kidding me._

Sakura heard a squeal of delight.

"Who is _that_?!"

With her arms stuffed, she redirected her attention to the woman, who might as well have been cut and paste straight from an erotica magazine.

The woman had long, wavy auburn hair that trickled down her waist, indisputably striking against her choice of forest-green… _what was it exactly?_ It was surely some form of a bikini, but Sakura doubted the skimpy thing would stay on if she went for a swim.

Gracefully, the woman stalked towards them in stilettos. Her full breasts bounced underneath the sheer fabric of her bikini, which Sakura guessed was _supposed_ to cover the woman's most sensitive bits. It didn't work. The cold air only emphasized everything.

From a practicality standpoint, the outfit was a nightmare. Sakura counted a plethora of nonfunctional straps for the abysmal amount of fabric there was.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked, trying not to seem too eager. Of course, any semblance of intrigue was only directed at Sasuke.

Sakura glanced at the Jinchuriki. He had his eyes glued to the sky. Good thing, too. She didn't know why, but she had an inkling that she would've given him a good beating if she saw him staring.

"Sasuke, hurry up. Just ask her the question so we can get out of here," the Jinchuriki whispered.

"We have inquiries," Sasuke replied casually.

The woman eyed the two men up and down. "Alright," she said as she motioned for them to follow. "And the girl?"

"She's not with us."

"What?!" the Jinchuriki hissed at their teammate. "No way. I'm not going!"

"What the _fuck_ Sasuke _,_ " Sakura whispered. "What do you think you're do—"

He turned to face them when the auburn-haired woman was out of earshot, interrupting their protests. "We'll split up here. We're dealing with the scum of the scum, so this is the reality. Sakura—try to blend in and see what else you can find. Keep your chakra flared so we know you're safe."

Just then, a violent rumbling erupted from Sakura's stomach, much to her humiliation. She would've tried to smother the sound with her arms if they weren't already full.

Sasuke smirked. "And you should probably find a snack."

Before she could retort, Sasuke the _lech_ allowed himself to be pulled into the ominous black building by what might as well have been a _succubus,_ much to Sakura's chagrin.

The Jinchuriki could do nothing as he looked back at her with an apologetic expression.

Fuming, she watched them disappear into the club music.

* * *

_Despicable._

Absolutely despicable.

Boy did she hate him now.

Sakura angrily took the last bite out of the BBQ squid she'd bought from a street vendor, chewing ferociously. She crumpled up her wrapper and tossed it in a nearby trash bin before storming on.

Sasuke was just a good-for-nothing pervert. That meant the burden to find the scroll fell onto Sakura, while her two dead-weight teammates did fuck all.

She was not in a good mood. She hadn't slept well last night, and if she was being honest with herself, she had PTSD from the damned hallucinogenic that caused her to see horrifying things. On top of that, she still had no idea where Itachi was, or what she'd do to get in contact with Akatsuki. The cherry on top was that her simple mission to Iwa had her on a wild goose chase right now.

So, yeah. It was a shitty day to say the least.

_There it is._

Sakura came to a stop as one of the more popular gambling bars, recommended to her earlier, emerged in view. It was later into the evening now, and the nicer-looking storefronts from earlier took on second personas with janky neon signs and smoky rooms.

She pulled aside the entry curtain. Behind it was a large open area with some wooden tables tucked along the edges of the room. In the center of the room was a rectangular floor mat, able to seat about sixteen people along its perimeter. The floor mat was already decently full, with rowdy men trying their luck at some form of gambling.

There were a few empty pillows where she could likely eavesdrop on the entire room if she focused. Great. She could ' _try to blend in'_ and ' _see what she could find'_ , as stupid Sasuke told her to do. She could really use a drink or two anyway.

Now… where was a good place to start?

She scanned the room and channeled chakra to enhance her hearing.

A dozen conversations became amplified at once. It was almost overwhelming—the amount of mental focus required to filter out all the irrelevant noise would've been draining if it weren't for her precise chakra control.

She heard drunk men ranting about their wives, jokingly—or not—bragging about how they'd run away with a mistress, spouting about their latest shady business deals, and thanking lady luck for their gambling wins.

And then something caught her ear.

"I've got all the hookups in the city," said an eager, whispered voice. "Even to _the doc_."

"Big whoop," responded an unbelieving voice. "I didn't learn the meaning of _corrupt_ until I heard all the rumors. I wouldn't let him touch me with a ten-foot pole."

"You're missing the point," the first voice said. "I just mean I have the good stuff. Even _he_ uses it."

_Perfect._

There was nothing better than a loud, peacocking idiot when it came to getting leads. Judging the pace at which he was downing alcohol, she probably wouldn't have to do much before he began spilling all the secrets of the criminals in this city.

Just when Sakura was about to make her way over, a beefy arm shot out of nowhere.

"What?" she snapped.

She realized that she was talking to the bouncer. He held his hand out, blocking her entry.

"Sorry miss, but shinobi are not allowed into this establishment," he said as he pointed to the sign.

Sakura wondered what a guy like him could do about it, but decided not to make a scene.

Wait a minute. How did _he_ know she was—

_Oh._

She looked at her outfit. Damn Sasuke and his _fucking_ sword. It stuck out from under her cloak.

She was going to have to use Tenten's enclosing technique to get rid of her stuff. She ducked into a nearby alley to execute the rest of her plan, and before sealing away all of her teammate's belongings, decided to throw her cloak and pack in there too.

 _Let's hope this bouncer isn't a sensory_ type, she thought.

Worst case scenario, she'd be thrown out.

_Henge no jutsu!_

* * *

Tsunade wasn't having any of it.

She didn't like the self-congratulatory attitude hidden underneath his ingenuine solemn expression, or the way he faked a tremor in his hand as part of his sympathy ploy. The way he walked with a cane as if to emulate an old, fragile man. The way he could look someone dead in the eye and lie without a heavy conscience.

Danzo was a predator. And she'd be his prey if she wasn't careful.

"Forensics estimates that it's around four weeks old," he said.

"Is that what they're saying now?" Tsunade replied. It was more of a statement than a question. She didn't want to give him any indication of what she was thinking, and purposefully took a neutral tone as she sized him up from behind her desk.

Root found a sliver of shedded snake skin a few miles north of one of the temples in Fire Country. Apparently, it was around four weeks old.

"I fail to see why it should concern me, Danzo. If you're concerned about an infestation of venomous snakes near Konoha, we can surely exterminate them."

"No, that won't be necessary. You see, these types of snakes aren't venomous… necessarily."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. What was his angle?

"In fact, they aren't even from around here," he drawled.

"Why bring it up then? Get to the point." She _hated_ that fucking nonchalant tone he used.

"What was it that your team originally found at the scene, four weeks ago? It was some… dagger of some sort? And a torn piece of cloth?"

Tsunade gave her best poker face as she leaned back in her chair, tapping her nails on the wooden desk. He was up to something. Framing the context. Manipulating her. Trying to lead her to form some type of conclusion.

"Danzo, you have read the reports. There was evidence of a battle in the rain and a poisoned dagger was left behind. We suspected killings but found no bodies. We're not sure if it's related to the Inuzukas' or Suna's shinobi disappearances," she snapped. "Why am I repeating myself? Get to the point, Danzo. What do you have to say about your findings?"

"Oh, I can tell you that the disappearances are all related. Every last one of them. That snake was from none other than Ryuchi cave."

Tsunade froze. There was only one way a snake from the Ryuchi cave would end up near Konoha. And there were only two known shinobi who had a summoning contract with that cave.

One of them was already dead.

_Forensics estimates that it's around four weeks old._

Four weeks ago was when Sasuke returned.

Something wasn't right.

"My team already cleared the area," Tsunade said. "Nothing was found at the time of the discovery. The snake could have shown up afterwards."

"That may very well be true. Or… maybe your team clearing the area is precisely why we didn't find anything until now," Danzo replied. "After all, you are _very_ overworked."

He was calling them incompetent. Fucking bastard.

She looked at him with hard eyes. "Why don't you just say what you mean for once?"

He remained unfazed.

Thinking back, Danzo was noticeably absent during the terms of Sasuke's pardon, when the council pushed back on her decision to allow him back into the village. She knew he was up to no good, even then.

"I have no idea what you mean, Princess Tsunade. I am a very straightforward man."

_Tch._

It was very clear that Danzo wanted Sasuke to _seem_ guilty for the crimes. But making that conjecture was a fucking leap if she ever saw one.

She had to hand it to him—the dates of all the disappearances lined up nicely, to when Sasuke was outside the village and unaccounted for. He was working to complete a number of missions before being allowed to join Team 7, but the reports on those, and even Sai's findings, were all unremarkable.

"Morino already cleared Sasuke. Unless you have something _specific,_ like DNA samples that match our records, then you have only wasted my time. Get out," Tsunade barked.

What bothered Tsunade was that she didn't know what Danzo had to gain if Sasuke was found guilty. As far as she knew, they'd barely interacted when Sasuke was a child.

"Tsunade," Danzo said, shaking his head. He picked up his cane and began inching towards the door. "You lead with your heart, not your head. It will be the end of Konoha, whether tomorrow or ten years from now."

He closed the door behind him.

Tsunade was left alone with her thoughts.

Naruto believed in Sasuke, and she believed in Naruto. She wouldn't get sucked into whatever Danzo was trying to pull. She wouldn't entertain this conspiracy; that was exactly what he wanted.

Suddenly, she thought about that scroll that she gave Sakura. What did she say to her then?

_That she couldn't take the chance._

Was she just being paranoid?

Or had she just sent two of her most trusted successors out with a dangerous double agent?

* * *

"Ah! Ahh! Sasuke, are you sure this is okay?!" said Naruto as he walked through the grimy lounge area clumsily, trying his best to avoid touching anything. Picking up a disease in this filthy place was _not_ on his to-do list.

"Dobe, I don't care if you don't gather any intel, but can you at least try to not to attract so much attention to yourself?" Sasuke said, looking irritated.

Naruto shot him a glare. The _only_ reason why they were here was because Sasuke did _nothing_ but attract attention from women, always.

What were they even _doing_ here?

Naruto had a bad feeling about it all. For all he knew, Sasuke could have picked up some nasty habits during his time away from Konoha.

And Sakura looked _pissed._

Their hostess brought them into one of the dimly-lit private rooms to give Sasuke the 'VIP experience'. It had a leveled stage surrounded by two long leather couches on both sides.

"My friend will be here soon," the auburn-haired woman said to Naruto as she stepped onto the stage. She grabbed the pole nearest Sasuke and began swaying her hips to the music.

"U-uhm, sure, no problem lady!" he chuckled and threw a hand behind his head, trying his best impression of someone who was comfortable. But really, he was inwardly sweating like he'd never felt before. 

"Call me Tsuta," she said.

"C-cool name!" Naruto stammered. 

"What's your problem?" hissed Sasuke under the music. "Is it your first time or something?"

Sasuke probably thought there was no way Naruto traveled the country with _that_ legendary sannin without seeing one of these clubs. But despite how it looked, Naruto had spent most of those travels focused on his training.

"No, of c-course not!" Naruto said hotly, pouting with his arms crossed. He stomped over to the opposite couch and reluctantly sat down.

Naruto had no idea what they were talking about, or what he meant by "first time", but Sasuke would score a point in their unofficial rivalry over Naruto's dead body.

His friend smirked, indicating that he hadn't quite believed the lie.

Unsure of what he just signed himself up for, Naruto eyed the exit. It wasn't that far off…

_Maybe I can make a run for it._

And then he looked at Sasuke, who was looking at him. Naruto sank a little more into the couch. He probably wouldn't be able to avoid whatever was coming now.

"It's part of the job. Just do it," Sasuke mouthed as he relaxed into the couch opposite Naruto.

The door opened, and a second girl stepped inside, sparsely covered by a lacy bikini that matched her long, straight purple hair.

Damn was she hot.

"I heard you were looking for me," she said.

Naruto gulped.

* * *

Sasuke strained his ears to eavesdrop.

"…never seen anyone so handsome."

The girls whispered to each other over synchronized twirls on the poles. He only heard the tail end of whatever they said.

He had to figure out a way to make them talk without being suspicious. The effort would be useless unless he could steer the conversation.

"Tsuta," Sasuke commanded.

She jumped.

"Come keep me company." He motioned for her to join him on the couch.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw a look of panic shoot across Naruto's face. The purple-haired woman, Tsuta's "friend", followed Tsuta off the stage and made her way to the cowering blonde. Sasuke sent a look of encouragement to his teammate, though it was probably a pitiful attempt.

Tsuta stepped between Sasuke's legs and rested one knee on the couch as she leaned over to give him a full view of her breasts. He could see her aroused buds through her sheer green fabric and tried not to stare.

"I thought you'd never ask," she whispered into his ear before planting a hot kiss on his neck.

He shifted a little.

_Fuck._

She stood and began to sway her hips again, slowing down every now and then to touch herself artfully. She was a pro, alright.

 _Concentrate_ , he told himself.

"I was actually wondering if you could help me with something, Tsuta," he purred. He made sure to keep repeating her name—he knew he had a certain effect on women that way. "What can you tell me about procuring rare items in this city?"

She bent over with the music and flipped her hair. As if it was a perfectly choreographed dance, she sultrily began to raise her torso with a straight back.

Sasuke resisted the urge to activate his Sharingan, which would've allowed him to memorize her fingers trailing along the length of her thigh.

"I'll be asking the questions," she said.

She was good at her job. Naruto was a goner if the other woman was just as good. That meant the entire operation rested on Sasuke now.

"Ask away." Sasuke had to force a smile on his face as the words felt very unnatural to him. He motioned for her to straddle his hips. When she obliged, he grasped her hips with strong hands, moving his arms with her body as she grinded in his lap.

She was _really_ good.

"You don't look like a regular businessman," she whispered. "What do you do for a living?"

"That's because I'm not," he explained.

She already knew, somehow. There was no point in denying it now.

"You're a shinobi, aren't you? From where?"

"We're rogue."

"Ah, is that so?" Tsuta rested her hands on his chest as she continued to dance on him.

Seduction was a delicate sport. Sasuke needed to make her talk without it seeming like he was resisting her interrogation.

He nodded. "We managed to land a job. But someone stole an item I was supposed to deliver."

He took control of her hips and pushed her down on his lap so that she was grinding him harder. Her body was fluid in his hands, their electric chemistry growing stronger with every second.

She must've liked what she was doing to him. He started to feel the moistness of her crotch through his pants. 

"I haven't been able to find it in the pawn shops," he continued. He slid his hands up along her ribs until his thumbs rested just beneath her breasts. He kept his touch light on her skin, just enough to raise the hair on her arms and send a tingling sensation down the length of her spine. She arched into his touch, begging for more.

He was tempted to give it to her. The tension was undeniable.

When she began to moan a little, he knew he had her.

"Try the storefront up the hill that sells rugs and carpets," she responded breathlessly. "They're open 24/7."

"And how could I get _special_ access to—"

Sasuke paused. _What was that?_

Tsuta said something, but he wasn't listening.

His mind was fixated on something in the air that had changed within the last second. And it meant something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Gently, with lightning-fast speed, he placed Tsuta on the armrest of the couch, handed her a tip, and bolted out the door.

"Sasuke!" he heard Naruto call after him.

By the time his friend caught up, panting, Sasuke was already sprinting halfway down the street.

"What's _your_ problem?!" Naruto shouted. "Weren't you the one who said to—"

"Naruto, don't tell me you didn't feel it?"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, sending startled civilians darting away from their path. He didn't care that they were supposed to keep their identities hidden. This was more important.

"Feel what? Can you tone it down a little? You're scaring people," Naruto said.

"Naruto, we need to find Sakura."

"Huh? Sakura?"

Sasuke nodded. "There's something wrong. Her chakra disappeared."

A look of concern washed over his friend's face. Without hesitation, the blonde began to make a hand sign. "Let's split up. Kage bunshin—"

"No idiot, not here." He covered his teammate's hand signs. "Check across the road. Meet me in three minutes if you don't find anything.

Naruto nodded and dashed off.

Sasuke scanned the crowds with his eyes once more.

 _There._ He'd start there.

He let his instincts take over and ran into the closest restaurant to search for his teammate. Curious patrons looked up at him from their meals. He couldn't see or feel any sign of enemy shinobi. He didn't see Sakura either.

He cursed.

He wasn't so lucky with the next one, either.

Or the next one after that.

Sasuke lost count of how many times he dashed in and out of various venues to no avail.

_Where the fuck did she go?_

" **All in!"**

The roar of a crowd stole his attention. There was a huge ruckus in one of the gambling spots on the edge of the street, where he hadn't checked yet. It looked popular, and it was unlikely that his pink-haired teammate would venture in by choice. He decided to check anyway.

Inside were the lowered heads of busy men testing their luck with the roll of die. Some men yelled in victory, messily splashing their sake everywhere as they smashed their shot glasses into each other.

His gaze was pulled to a woman, the _only_ woman, sitting among them with her back turned towards him. She had medium length blonde hair and wore a fitted mini dress. Her waist was small, but her shoulders looked strong, and in her seated position Sasuke could see that she had hips. A nagging sensation told him that the woman was important somehow, even though he couldn't see her face.

She was busy chatting with the man next to her. He poured her some sake, and they toasted before throwing their heads back and getting back into the game.

The body language between them pointed to strangers rather than acquaintances. He watched as the man outstretched a hand to brush the woman's cheek. Before he could, she laughed, forcing him to drop it.

Naruto appeared at his side. "No luck. What did you find?"

Sasuke kept his eyes glued on the woman. He saw Naruto notice her too.

"Do you see anything interesting about it, Naruto?"

She was toasting to someone else's winnings again, throwing some sake down her throat with ease.

Naruto cocked his head and squinted his eyes. Then he did a double take. "Is that… _Sakura?_ "

Sasuke nodded. He wondered why she masked her chakra. From the looks of it, she was in control of the situation.

But that was only until the man put his hand on her rear.

"The hell—"

"Wait." Sasuke blocked Naruto's path.

"What do you mean _wait_?! I'll clobber him!"

Sasuke smirked as he continued to block Naruto's entry despite the violent protests he received.

The man surely had nerves. He kept his hand still on her ass, gripping a generous handful of flesh. As he leaned in to whisper something in their teammate's ear, he made a point to keep his hand locked where it was.

Naruto snarled and pushed some more, but Sasuke's stance was unwavering. They were too far to hear what was being said, but Sasuke found himself actually quite interested to see what Sakura would do. The old version of her might shriek in horror or faint of embarrassment, or maybe both.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped pushing. "Oh, that guy is screwed."

 _Screwed?_ Sasuke looked at Naruto with alarm. "You don't mean—"

 _Shit._ Sakura was going to blow their cover. Sasuke had to do something quickly.

However, as he stepped forward, he felt Naruto's arms hold him back.

"Naruto, let go of me. We need to stop her—"

"No way. Don't _ever_ get in the way of Sakura in that mode. She's _scary_."

The way Naruto shuddered didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke.

And then they heard a _crunch_ , followed by the sounds of a man howling in pain.

Wooden chairs screeched as they skidded backwards. Two men, henchmen, Sasuke guessed, shot up from the tables where they were perched. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

The rest of the bar quieted to slow murmurs and stares, some directed at Sasuke and Naruto still standing by the entryway.

"She… broke my hand!"

The goons clenched their fists and moved forward, but wised up quickly when Sakura hopped off the stool with her chakra flaring.

"Try that again and I'll be happy to break your face. And gimme this," she spat as she forcefully grabbed a bucket of bills out of someone's hands.

"Hey! She took my money!"

A large man appeared from behind the wall near Sasuke, towering over Sakura. "You! Shinobi aren't allowed—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving..."she said, making apparent that she felt the least intimidated.

Everyone's eyes were on her now.

Sasuke cursed. So much for keeping a low profile. "Sakura," he called.

In a puff of smoke, she transformed back into her original form. Sour mood included.

"Took ya long enough. Let's go!" She huffed down the street without looking back.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Something _still_ wasn't right. Was she swaying? It looked like she was struggling to walk straight.

"Hey," Naruto whispered. "Why's she acting so funny?"

They caught up to her and Sasuke spun her around.

"Sakura. Tell us what happened."

"Let go o'me," Sakura shouted as she slapped Sasuke's hand off of her. "I lost it all! And you left me!" She began jamming her finger into his chest, painfully.

Sasuke caught her hand before she could do it again.

He realized that her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were glassy.

"You're drunk," he said.

"S'fine…I'm not c-completely intoschic… intoxicated," she slurred. "Kami _you're_ so handsome."

Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin line. He was _not_ amused. She was being so careless—no— _stupid._

"It's the hair isn't it," she said as she tried to play with his bangs.

"Stop it," Sasuke commanded as he jerked his head out of her reach. "Damn it, Sakura."

Sasuke had to put both of his hands on her shoulders to hold her upright. She used her free hand to push his hold away, and then as if she couldn't decide what to do with herself, leaned forward with her forehead resting on his shoulder.

Naruto groaned. "We haven't even been here for _a day_. Pervy-sage always said to avoid alcohol and gambling… and bad women. Yet… I've _seen_ things... _done_ things… and now Sakura's _drunk_ ," he complained.

"It wasn't for nothing. I was able to get a lead," Sasuke said.

"Three! There are only THREE things on that damned list of shinobi prohibitions, and you guys just _couldn't_ stay away from any of them, could you?!"

"Naruto, shut up and listen to me," Sasuke said. He felt the vein on his forehead threatening a headache if he didn't get his teammates under control. "We have a lead."

"We have two," said Sakura with her voice still muffled in Sasuke's shoulder.

"We need to prioritize them, then. There's a rug and carpet shop up the hill where we might be able to find the scroll. We'll go in the morning."

"And there's Dr. Jaaku," Sakura exclaimed proudly with a raised finger. Her breath tickled his neck. Then, her hand became lax and she dropped her arm again. "S'some typa crimin—" she hiccuped. "Criminal 'round here…"

"New plan," Naruto announced, hand on his stomach. "I'm hungry. You two find us some rooms for the night. I'm getting dinner."

"Wait, Naruto," Sasuke tried to call after him.

The blonde turned his head and stuck out a tongue. "You handle it! I'm done with both of you!" he exclaimed in exasperation.

Sasuke sighed.

That meant he was stuck with a very, _very_ drunk Sakura.

_Fuck._

* * *

**To be continued…**


	16. The Play

_Those jaws were not human._

_The way they stretched and stretched and continued to stretch—Sasuke and Sakura could only watch in horror as the alien funneled a full-sized scroll down his throat._

" _S-Sakura…?"_

_He got no response. He looked to his right—_

_Shit._

_It was no good. Fear had already taken over—she couldn't hear him right now. Her rigid body was still as a sculpture, only animated by her muddied, trembling fingers, her nails violently clawing into the earth._

_They were only Genin. They had no choice but to flee. Otherwise death would be certain._

" _Can't move already?" Orochimaru taunted, as if their lives were a joke._

 _Move. Move._ _Move._

_Sasuke needed his weapon. It was right there. He was so close._

_Even if it was just a little…_ _move!_

_Sasuke's pouch was holstered on his thigh, within arm's reach, yet to extend and grab a kunai was an impossible, daunting task, as his body felt like it was being crushed solely by the air of bloodthirst around them._

" _Don't worry. You won't even have time to feel pain. I'd hoped to be entertained—it's too bad that it'll be over within a second."_

_Sasuke couldn't let it happen. He couldn't die in the Forest of Death, during the Chunin exams, and he couldn't let Sakura be killed right in front of his eyes._

_And so he took her and ran as fast as he could._

_He didn't know how. His body moved on its own, out of pure instinct to survive, to protect someone close to him—all because he'd made a vow to never let a comrade die._

_It was only a moment later, when they reached safety, when he realized that he'd stabbed himself in the leg to break the spell of fear that had overcome the both of them._

" _Sasuke—are you okay?" Sakura asked, breathing hard._

_He wasn't sure. But they had bigger problems. They were still alive, somehow, but they wouldn't be for long unless they figured out a plan._

_Sasuke fell back against the tree. He winced from the pain of his wound, though he tried not to, otherwise she'd only worry. He clamped down on the inside of his lip to prevent himself from screaming as he ripped the kunai out of his body._

_Sakura leaned forward on her hands and knees. Her concerned, teary eyes bore into his._

" _Are you okay, Sasuke?"_

_He put a hand over her mouth._

" _Be quiet, Sakura. We can't get discovered."_

* * *

"Where's our stuff?" Sasuke demanded.

Sakura better not have lost it. He didn't entrust that sword to just anybody.

"S'okay, I put 'em away," she slurred, still clutching her stolen bucket of money. Then she hiccuped.

Sasuke ran an irritated hand through his hair as he studied her. She really took it too far. Judging from her candidness, Sakura was going to be drunk for a while.

But that wasn't why he was irritated.

He was irritated at the fact that his body suffered an involuntary twinge of panic when her chakra disappeared, sending him flying down the street like a maniac with his Sharingan blazing red. Even _Naruto_ had to tell him to keep his cool.

 _Her fault._ Sakura was a fucking _child_.

"Fine, whatever," he grumbled in response. "Let's see if there's an inn up the hill."

He had to get her somewhere else. She was too drunk and it would be too easy for them to exacerbate their mess of a cover, which by this point, could probably not be made worse if they held large, bright, self-identifying shinobi labels up in the air.

Maybe she'd make it easy for him. Maybe, just _maybe_ , she'd follow him to an inn, where she'd fall asleep, _quietly,_ so that he could continue the search for the scroll on his own, unimpeded. Maybe he'd be even luckier and their inn would be close to that carpet store Tsuta told him about.

It was pitiful that this would indeed be the best part of his night if it happened.

And so he began their journey in the opposite direction of where Naruto went off to, away from the bustle of the streets and towards a less-paved path covered by shrubs and trees. The road was mostly dirt with no street lights, but Sasuke could see lit buildings at the top of the hill that marked their destination.

After a couple minutes of silence, Sasuke checked behind him.

Sakura was still there.

_Good._

Every few seconds or so, he had to double check to see if she was still following. It would just be annoying if she disappeared again, and he couldn't trust that she wouldn't cause even more of a ruckus if she managed to escape his watch.

Out of nowhere, Sasuke felt someone's presence.

He stopped.

_Behind?_

Sasuke scanned their peripherals until he felt Sakura crash into his back. It knocked her backwards, likely giving her vertigo in her inebriated state.

"Hey!"

He watched as she brought a hand to her forehead to steady her dizzying vision. He received a dirty look from her when she finished.

"Thought I felt something. It's nothing," he said.

He wasn't about to apologize. This entire thing was her fault anyway. _Someone_ had to be cautious.

It wasn't until he heard a third and fourth pair of fast-approaching footsteps when he realized that he'd been right to suspect something all along.

Sure enough, a few moments later, there they were—two men hiking down the middle of the street. They began to pick up their pace as they got closer to Sasuke and Sakura, almost to the point of jogging.

Sasuke tensed.

With all the recent events and local tips, Sasuke knew that under no circumstance should they confirm they were shinobi. Doing so would hinder their ability to re-obtain the scroll in the best case scenario, and possibly put multiple targets on their backs in the worst.

The men reached into their pockets.

_Weapons?_

Just when Sasuke braced himself for a confrontation, they simply crossed his path in a hasteful way without casting the two of them a second glance.

_False alarm?_

Probably up to no good, though.

Sasuke checked behind him once again.

Sakura was still there.

He was starting to feel a little obsessive with how often he had to do that.

_Damn it._

"Here," he bossed, pointing forward to some empty space. "Walk in front of me."

"S'kay... yeesh.." She slapped the air where she probably thought his hands were, and stumbled to her new position. "Don't manhand...manhandle me."

Ridiculous.

Sasuke found relief in the fact that he could easily keep an eye on her if she stayed in front of him. But that relief was short-lived when he realized that for some reason it _did_ offer relief, and then his irritation grew.

Why did he even care so much?

Sasuke's eyes kept tugging themselves away from the road in front of them and onto the back of Sakura's head, where the resentment only continued to bubble up inside of him.

"Careless," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"To—" she hiccuped. "Do wha...?" she asked, nonchalantly.

"You shouldn't have drank that much. You lost control of the situation and almost blew our cover because of it."

Sakura continued walking ahead. She didn't respond to his comment.

It would be better to just give up the effort, he decided. She probably wouldn't remember much of what he was saying anyway.

 _Annoying,_ Sasuke thought to himself for the third time that night.

As he continued to glare at her from behind, Sasuke's eyes trickled down her back, down to where she'd been groped earlier.

The memory of Sakura crushing the man's wandering hand was consoling, at least. Sasuke smirked as he replayed the earlier scene in his head.

He couldn't blame the guy for trying. After being around Karin—a self-conscious woman who preferred to keep her body thin—for so long, Sasuke learned to appreciate the beauty of a voluptuous shape.

Take what was in front of him, for example. The sway of those hips with those thigh-high boots… the way that _tight_ skirt only accentuated her—

The fuck was he doing?

 _Stop,_ he scolded himself. He couldn't soil the memory of Team 7 with animalistic thoughts about his teammate.

He shot his arms out and grabbed Sakura's shoulders from behind.

"Ah!—wha...?"

"Actually…walk next to me." Forcefully, he scooted her to his side.

That was much better.

Just then, Sasuke could've sworn he saw something move in the corner of his eye.

Was he being paranoid?

Something moved on the other side, behind a tree in the shadows.

 _No._ It was real this time.

"Sakura," he whispered.

"Yeah?"

Shit. She was supposed to be the sensory-type, not him.

He was going to ask if she could run. Or fight. The fact that he saw a shadow before she even _sensed_ a presence meant that it would be stupid to ask her to do anything right now.

"Come with me." Sasuke pulled her arm and trekked in the opposite direction of the hill.

"W-whaddya mean? But the—" she hiccuped. "Top o' the hill is that way!"

"I forgot something," Sasuke said a little extra loudly. Maybe he still had a chance to keep their covers intact. It'd be best to get to the crowded streets where he'd be able to camouflage and gather info.

Eventually, after a few minutes, the familiar base of the hill neared, and Sasuke saw a few strangers milling about. _Good._

Now walking at a brisk pace, they entered the bustling streets again, and Sasuke began zig-zagging through the crowds as unpredictably as possible. He crossed the road, looped around the end of the street, and then crossed the road a second time, watching the reactions of those around him.

 _That person—_ was he following their pattern?

The person in question walked by and entered the bar behind them.

No. He wasn't following them.

Sasuke looked around again. The makeup of this crowd was different each time, meaning that nobody in their immediate vicinity was tailing them.

"Hey—we're going in circles," Sakura finally said after the third loop.

He scoffed. At least she wasn't completely gone.

Courtesy of Sakura's near-meltdown at the bar, whoever was tailing them could've been _anybody_ —a goon coming to get his stolen money back, the creep who was hitting on her earlier, a drug-trafficking criminal protecting their territory. Sasuke also couldn't eliminate the possibility of shinobi, either.

"Sasuke...?"

"We're being followed—don't look," he directed. "Stay beside me."

Sakura kept her eyes to the floor and followed in his footsteps.

 _There._ It was subtle, but their stalker finally made a mistake. Sasuke saw the same hooded figure on both sides of the street earlier, which was too specific with the pattern they walked to be a coincidence.

"Found him. Let's hide," he told her.

But what could they use?

No weapons… no jutsu. They were trying to blend in, not attract attention; confrontation was to be avoided.

Sasuke evaluated the architecture around them. Similar to Tsunade's favorite city, Tanzaku Quarters, some of Yukkao's downtown housed civilians in the upper floors with storefronts underneath them.

Those buildings on the next street over were tall and tightly-spaced enough.

_Perfect._

Sasuke continued to walk speedily, now with his arm around Sakura, guiding her along without looking like he was hurried.

It was just a matter of timing...

_Wait for it._

…

…

_Now!—_

As a particularly loud cluster of patrons approached, Sasuke turned a sharp corner and hurled the two of them into a narrow alley between two buildings. The landing wasn't particularly graceful, but he'd managed to do it without being seen.

"What the fuck—"

He clamped a hand over her mouth for the second time that week. "Be quiet, Sakura. We can't get discovered."

When Sakura's eyes reflected an acceptable minimum level of understanding, he released his grip.

"I can fight, y'kno…" she whispered.

He glared. She'd better not do what he thought she was about to do.

She began to raise a fist. "See, look—"

Sasuke forced both of her arms down, keeping them locked by her sides with his hands on her wrists. "Stop that. Back up some more," he instructed, scooting her deeper into the shadows until he had her pinned against the wall, where no one would be able to sneak up on her while he was monitoring the street.

She gulped loudly.

"S-sasuke...are you…" Sakura stammered. "Is this the play I think it is?"

"What play?" Sasuke asked, absentmindedly.

A shadow crossed the alley and made its way back again.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. _Was that the same guy?_

He thought maybe they'd lost their tail with the last-minute duck into the alley.

It looked like they hadn't.

In his peripheral vision, he could feel Sakura staring.

"Rule forty five of the shinobi handbook... make conce—"

"What?" Sasuke snapped his attention to her.

He knew what she was going to say, but didn't want her to say it out loud. _Make concessions to avoid being made._

Leave it to miss smartypants to remember the handbook. She always got better grades than he.

Rule 45 was an espionage tactic from Konoha's handbook. If caught sneaking around in enemy territory, sacrifice dignity and disguise the activity as something relatively harmless. For a male and female pair, _i.e_ them, it usually meant pretending to be two lovers with no self control—something most people wouldn't scrutinize. Cliches were cliches because they _worked._

"No," Sasuke said, furrowing his brows. "Just be quiet."

He wasn't _that_ desperate, was he?

Surprisingly, she followed his directions and refrained from making a snide remark, only staring at his lips with half-lidded eyes.

Just then, he became conscious of his breath. And how close they were standing. And how easy it would be to close the gap between them.

Sasuke clenched his jaw and figuratively kicked himself in the head to get his mind out of the gutter once again.

"Where'd they go?!" A man's voice suddenly boomed from afar.

More footsteps shuffled outside the alley.

It was now clear to Sasuke that they were being followed by mere civilians. A nuisance, definitely, but they'd disappear on their own if they became discouraged enough. Confrontation was pointless.

Sasuke leaned into Sakura some more, resting his hand on the wall and blocking off her view with his shoulder.

She rested her forehead against him, and to his irritation, began fidgeting with his shirt.

"Stay still and be _quiet_." Sasuke used his free hand to brush her fingers off him.

Her pink, flushed lips became pouty. She lifted her head and put her face real close to his ear, where he could smell the sweet alcohol on her breath. "Or you'll _what?_ "

 _I have my ways,_ Sasuke thought to himself, resentfully.

Why was his imagination running wild? It was this damned city.

"Hmm?" challenged Sakura.

"I'll use genjutsu on you. What _else_?" he grumbled into her ear, more in assurance to himself that he hadn't meant something else.

To Sasuke's relief, she didn't respond to that. He was about to relax when—

"Try it."

He forgot that she was good at dispelling those. _Dammit._

"Or I'll knock you out, alright?" he hissed under his breath, his patience running dangerously low.

"Let's split up. You go that way!" another voice called from afar.

A man's silhouette appeared just outside the alley. "They should be around here," the shadow said.

Sasuke stiffened.

There were multiple people searching for them now.

The man just outside the alley was getting a bit too close to them for comfort.

It was all Sakura's fault for not being cooperative.

"S'if you _could_ knock me out, _"_ Sakura said suddenly, loudly. "I'm not the same—"

Sasuke clamped his hand over her mouth. _Again._

"What was that?"

"I think it was coming from over there."

_Shit._

"Shh," Sasuke said, whispering directly into Sakura's ear.

She murmured something underneath his fingers, but the words were muffled and he couldn't quite hear what she was trying to say. It was probably something stupid anyway.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her immaturity and tried to ignore the tingling sensation of her moving lips.

The silhouette from just outside the alley was only a few yards away now, inching closer and closer with every passing second.

A critical moment approached—one that would reveal if confrontation was necessary.

Sasuke hoped that the man wouldn't see them hiding in the dark shadows and would simply leave without incident.

He looked to the depth of the building's shadows to calculate the probability of that happening.

A sharp line separated the lit dirt and the shadows where he and Sakura were.

If the man so much as put one toe across that line, he'd be walking into dangerous territory—Sasuke would make him unconscious before he could make out two shinobi hiding in the dark.

It wouldn't be ideal, but at least whoever was tailing them wouldn't be able to see their faces, and Sasuke could keep their covers intact.

Suddenly, something warm, wet, and slimy slicked against the inside of his palm.

His stomach leaped. Sasuke snapped his eyes to the culprit, who had hostile defiance in her jade eyes.

He was at a loss of words.

_Was that Sakura's tongue?_

"Hey! Who's there?!"

_Shit._

Sasuke missed his chance. They were spotted.

There was only one play from here.

"Sakura, kiss me."

* * *

_Unknown_

They didn't know that they were still being watched, right at this moment.

He thought He'd been spotted by little Sasuke-kun. It turned out to not be the case at all, courtesy of the distraction provided by those civilian roughnecks along the road earlier. What an interesting twist of fate these past few days have been.

First, the coincidence that He'd run into his favorite Genin team from Konoha—He'd no idea that they'd been reunited. How _sweet._

Next, the ambush on them the other night—who was behind it? What was the objective?

The poison used on Team 7 on the night they were ambushed was undoubtedly His own creation. He just didn't know which one of His customers deployed it.

He'd been watching from the shadows ever since then. And the longer He watched, the more it seemed He was being rewarded for it.

He had to admit, it was exciting to discover that his creation was used on none other than His favorite Genin team from Konoha. It wasn't like the last time, when His experiment accidentally ended up in the water supply of that civilian village and everyone whined more than anything else. It was a waste of some good materials.

 _No._ This was _much_ better.

He couldn't think of anyone more perfectly suited to be His guinea pigs. Not only that—He was lucky enough to witness the aftereffects, which carried some unexpected developments.

Based on Sasuke-kun's reaction to the hallucinogenic that night, the poison worked exactly as it was designed to do.

But little Sakura-chan revealed such fascinating intel on the current state of affairs. It seemed the kunoichi was under the false impression that her parents had been tortured and killed.

Somehow, someone had artificially planted a state of confusion or psychological torment into her mind.

And interestingly enough, it was bringing out some _colors_ in Sasuke-kun's personality. The way he had Sakura-chan pinned against the wall right now only proved it.

Who ambushed them? And more importantly... who, oh _who_ , was the puppet master behind little Sakura-chan's mysterious condition? The grand-master behind the whole plan? What was the final objective?

He supposed He could use a little break from His experiments to find out.

* * *

"Itachi, aren't you supposed to be some kinda fuckin' mastermind?! How could this happen?"

"It's another thing to plan for stupidity," Kisame said. "Itachi never had to do it until now."

"I wasn't talkin' to you, piece of shit. Shark fin soup sounds good tonight, ya prick!"

Itachi tried to tune out the noise. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

The Chunin's eyes had rolled to the back of his head. His mouth was open, his saliva dripping down the sides.

Itachi propped up his slouched body against a wall, behind the old shack where they originally picked him up.

"M-nggh…mnmm..." the man droned like a monk in meditation, repeating words Itachi couldn't distinguish.

Itachi released his grip and the Leaf shinobi slumped to the ground.

"This one doesn't know."

"Then how're we going to find that bitch? The path to Iwa's fuckin' huge," Hidan complained. "And I can't stand this hat!" He took off the straw hat for the eleventh time, Itachi guessed, and shook his hair like a wild dog.

"Wear it," Itachi told him. "Your identity will be protected by my genjutsu only if you wear it."

"Unfortunate," Kisame said. "I've been wanting to say hello to my old friend. Seems it will be a missed opportunity."

Itachi's teammates were being too boisterous for his liking.

"Our only goal is to obtain information about the Jinchuriki's whereabouts. We're not fit for confrontation or more advanced genjutsu right now. And, frankly Kisame, I'm not sure Guy would remember you."

Hidan howled with laughter.

Itachi would apologize to Kisame later. Truth be told, he himself was in quite a sorry state, and his health was continuing to decline as he maintained the jutsu on Sakura. They needed to find her and capture the Jinchuriki, quickly.

Like Hidan said, this shouldn't have happened. Itachi hadn't anticipated that the communication scroll would've been tampered with. He also hadn't anticipated that Team 7 wouldn't be in the village.

"This is the farthest we'll get into Konoha without being caught," said Itachi.

It was far enough. At least they were able to confirm two things—that Team 7 was on its way to Iwa, and Kakashi, Yamato, and all the usual guardians of the Jinchuriki were still in Konoha.

This alone was enough for Akatsuki to make its move.

It was unlikely, but it could prove inconvenient if a third party somehow found out about his jutsu. He had little control over Sakura's movements and interactions now. This was an issue of _containment._

And for that, he could send a clone.

* * *

Sakura made her way up the hill next to Sasuke, now long past the bustling streets of downtown, and regrettably, long past when the bliss of alcohol had left her body.

God had no mercy.

She'd said stupid things. Done stupid things. Thought stupid things. Things she could not take back. Things that she would remember. Things that _he_ would remember.

And she really needed to get her hands on some damn mouthwash. _Pronto._

It wasn't really a kiss. She'd failed at the last second, and ended up smashing her nose on Sasuke's face. When she tried again, she missed his lips. Really, not a convincing sight—especially not to the drunk men who'd found them.

In the end, Sasuke lost his patience and knocked them out. It would undoubtedly cause future headaches when the man woke up and told all his friends what happened.

_Don't say anything. Don't make eye contact. Just—_

"…We're here."

_Huh?_

She almost walked right past their destination—a quaint, traditional Japanese inn, built of wood and elevated slightly off the ground with a thatched roof.

She supposed she would have appreciated it.

If she wasn't so busy dying of humiliation.

But with this inn, the promise of solitude neared, and so Sakura eagerly slid the door open to where she'd soon be given her own room. Where she could get her shit together. _In peace._

The action jingled a bell, announcing her arrival. Sasuke came in behind her and slid it shut again, sounding off the bell for a second time.

"Welcome," said a plump woman as she approached the front desk. "A room for the lovely couple? We have a king-sized bed available."

_Gross._

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Actually—"

"Yes, thank you," Sasuke interrupted as he rested a hand on the small of her back. "For one night."

_What?_

"N-no wait—"

The woman already left to prepare a key, leaving Sakura with her finger up in the air.

"Sasuke. What was _that."_

"Let people think what they think—we don't want to draw attention to ourselves," he replied, as smooth as ever. "When Naruto gets here, you can switch with him."

Of course it was characteristic of Sasuke to think three steps ahead. Sakura didn't get a chance to retort before the woman came back into the room, handing her two towels and a key.

The towels were shaped into hearts.

Sakura felt herself die a little on the inside.

"Just up the stairs and down the hall, the last room on your right."

_Fuck it all._

"Fine. Let's go," Sakura mumbled to Sasuke. _Before I punch a crater into this damn place._

They headed up the squeaky stairs as instructed, and sure enough, came to the door in which the faded number on her key matched what was written on the wood in front of her face.

This was it.

Sakura tucked the towels under her arm to free up her hands to unlock it.

_On second thought..._

With one hand on the doorknob, she faced Sasuke. "When Naruto gets here, you can room with him," she said in a mocking tone, mirroring his earlier statement. "I'm taking this one."

"It's not like I've never seen you in your underwea _—_ "

Sakura hurled a towel at his face, cutting him off. She wanted it to startle him, but to her dismay, he caught it before it even unraveled out of its heart shape, which was even more maddening.

She knew he was referring to the night he first came back to Konoha, when she healed his injury wearing only a baggy t-shirt.

"You throw like you kiss."

Sakura's cheeks erupted with heat.

He did _not_ just—

The way one side of Sasuke's mouth twitched upwards told her that _yes_ , he _did_ just.

"That was—I was—I _don't_ kiss like—"

What was she even trying to say?

_Forget it._

He was only trying to get a rise out of her. He'd been doing that ever since he came back, even though she couldn't recall him ever giving her so much as a simple hello when they were kids.

Instead of standing there and allowing him to see that he was succeeding, Sakura kicked the door open, stormed inside, and slammed it shut behind her.

She could feel him smirking even through the wall. She'd kill him one day for sure. She'd just have to tell Itachi that Sasuke fell onto his own sword.

While she was busy daydreaming about what that might be like, the sound of retreating footsteps signaled that perhaps Sasuke had gone off to bother someone else.

 _Finally._ With him gone, she could get the peace and quiet she deserved.

Now, with nothing distracting her, the wave of exhaustion finally caught up. Mentally, physically, emotionally—it was all too much. Even standing there behind the door felt like the last stretch of a marathon that she'd never signed up for, and she almost didn't know what to do with herself.

Sakura looked at the bed. Then she looked down to her outfit.

Laying down now would only be uncomfortable. Her clothes were filthy and she needed to catch up on some personal hygiene, otherwise she likely wouldn't get good sleep even if she tried.

Mustering the last of her energy, she headed to the shower.

...And that's when it came flooding in. Thoughts. Images. Emotions.

Up until this point, they'd been so busy that she didn't even have time to process all that happened.

Outside, her missions, her irritating teammates, and all their material problems only got worse with time, as if each obstacle continued to grow thorny, out-of-control tentacles, unraveling a new setback at every corner they turned. And in here, within the closed-off bathroom and caving walls, anxiety and stress followed her like ghosts.

What was she going to do?

She couldn't go to Iwa empty-handed. And if she returned to Konoha as a failure, Tsunade might be pressured to disband Team 7. And if that happened, who knew when her next chance to lure the Jinchuriki outside would be? Then she'd never get what she _truly_ wanted, which was to help Leader end the suffering of all shinobi.

Compared to Itachi and the others, she was quite possibly the most useless member of Akatsuki.

Sakura breathed in some of the steam to calm her mind, picturing that the warm, humid air was cleansing her airway and nostrils.

She had to turn this shit-show around. Whatever it took.

She could admit that her actions earlier in the night were a mistake. Getting drunk on the job was wrong and ill-fitting for an elite kunoichi, even if it originally stemmed from needing to get close to a lead.

When the mission first started, she made it a goal for her to simply keep the Jinchuriki and Sasuke from dying, which was the absolute bare minimum she could get away with. She'd kept them at arm's length this entire time, ignored Sasuke's warnings repeatedly, their teamwork suffered, and everything was a disaster.

That clearly wasn't going to cut it.

Right now, she was the weakest link on Team 7. She needed to be closer to them. So that they could be a team rather than three individuals where it was every man for himself.

She'd start with Sasuke—they were always at odds.

Fifteen or so minutes later, with her revised objectives in place, Sakura hung her towel and dressed herself in the silk slip she received from Hinata. It was all that was left of her clean clothes. She began soaping her laundry in the bathroom sink, grateful to have the room to herself so nobody else would see her in basically nothing.

But around two minutes in, she thought she heard something—or did she?

Quickly, she turned off the faucet and listened carefully.

_Knock._

Someone was there.

"One minute!"

When she hung her clothes, she dashed across the room to open the door.

She was surprised to see the Jinchuriki holding a bag. "Hey."

"Sakura, look! I found your favorite—BBQ pork over rice. You can save it for tomorrow if you're not hungry."

"Oh, uhm...thanks," she said, taking the bento. She _was_ hungry.

What was that expression in his face? It was almost sheepish.

Behind him, Sasuke leaned against the wall.

Both of their backpacks were on the floor of the hallway.

She sent the Jichuriki an encouraging nod of appreciation, or at least her _best_ attempt at doing so, to get this whole bonding thing started.

He didn't say anything else, so it was probably all he needed, right?

Just as she was about to close the door, the Jinchuriki got that look on his face. Like he needed to say something.

Sakura stopped. _Spit it out_ , she thought to herself.

"Oh and… there's one small thing. You see… heh, Sasuke already explained it to me that you want your own room and everything…"

She narrowed her eyes at Sasuke, who was watching her with some glint in his eye which she could only interpret as stupid amusement. This couldn't be good.

"Yeah, and…?"

"The lady at the front said there aren't any more rooms available."

And that was her problem, how, exactly?

"Are there no other inns nearby?" she asked. Forget _nearby_ —Sakura didn't care if those two had to trek to a whole different village. There was no way in hell she'd be rooming with anyone tonight.

"Well… across town there might be, maybe..." the Jinchuriki's voice trailed.

 _You have to get close to them,_ a voice echoed.

Someone needed to grab her a damn hammer so she could knock the crazy out of herself, even if it meant pummeling her brain into mush. And she'd better do it soon, otherwise her Strength of 100 Seal jutsu would be ready and prevent the act from having any lasting effect.

"Sakura?"

For fuck's sake. Settling somewhere between soul-crushing disappointment and lunacy, she opened the door.

"Thanks, Sakura!" The Jinchuriki ruffled her hair when he and Sasuke passed.

She couldn't believe what she was doing.

"Whoa, what are you _wearing_?" His curious blue eyes completed nothing short of an expedition up and down her body. "Is that new?"

 _Crap_.

She was so warm and comfortable that she forgot that she was wearing her slip. Suddenly, she felt bare, naked, _exposed._

To her mortification, he didn't stop there.

"Sasuke, do you see what she's wearing?"

Their raven-haired teammate was in the midst of cleaning up his backpack and didn't even look up. "Shut up dobe. You're embarrassing her."

Somehow that just made it worse.

"Aw come on, Sasuke! She looks great!"

Sakura looked to her chair and wished that she hadn't just completely drenched her only set of clothes. She would've preferred dirty and dry over clean and wet.

_Maybe Sasuke could—_

Nope. She thought Sasuke could use his fire technique to dry them faster, but at this moment she couldn't even bring herself to look him in the eye. And he was, for sure, enjoying every bit of her mortification.

Thankfully, the attention didn't last—dinner seemed the more pressing task. The Jinchuriki diverted his eyes to his bento, snapping his chopsticks apart as he sat on the far edge of the bed, next to the balcony.

"Itadakimasu!"

They were so inconsiderate, completely unaware of just how badly their intrusion had ruined her night. And her view of the balcony. She wanted to be _alone_ and there was no way she'd be comfortable enough to relax now.

As he ate blissfully, Sakura's displeasure grew. It'd only been a couple minutes of confinement, but already she felt like she was being suffocated. The more he chewed, the more irked she became until she couldn't take it anymore.

She draped her cloak over her shoulders. "I'm going out."

* * *

"Huh? Where are you going, Sakura?"

Naruto blinked in confusion. Wasn't she hungry at all?

The tail end of her cloak disappeared into the hallway, and then she was gone. Just like that.

Did he say something to upset her?

Tsking the fact that she'd left the delicious-looking bento behind, Naruto dug into his own food.

And it was _delicious._

He was committed to paying the Yasumichi restaurant another visit—they were probably the only hole-in-the-wall in this tourist-stricken place, and Mrs. Yasumichi was nice enough to give him complementary tea-bag eggs to his order.

It was too bad about her son, though. Life was just unfair—someone could live a quiet, modest life, with perfect health for thirty years, only to suddenly disappear. Now, with him gone, Mrs. Yasumishi had to rely on her home cooking to get by.

Sasuke's shuffling brought Naruto back to their current dilemma. _Anyway_ —there was something he should do, quickly and easily, to find their stolen scroll. Maybe Sakura wouldn't be in such a poor mood then.

An idea popped into his head.

"Sasuke, maybe we can track our scroll using scent."

His teammate didn't acknowledge him, and instead laid back on the bed to rest his eyes.

"Sasuke?"

Nothing.

_Jerk._

Naruto sent a glare and then uncrossed his legs, reaching into his backpack for a kunai. He broke a tiny bit of the skin on his thumb.

_Kuchiyose no jutsu._

When the air cleared, a palm-sized orange toad saluted him from the bed. "Heya boss!"

"Gamabufo," greeted Naruto. "This is just a small favor, so I didn't want to disturb Gamakichi."

"Oh, pops? He ain't like grandpa."

Naruto chuckled. "Well, that may be true… but still." He turned on the lamp and picked up his bento, bringing it back to the bed with him.

"Anyways, what can I do for ya, boss?"

" _Sasuke_ was supposed to keep a scroll for us, but he lost—er—got it stolen instead. We're hoping to track it."

Now where was Sasuke's backpack?

When Naruto finally found it, he took out one of Sasuke's shirts, noticing how nice and silky it felt. Wasn't the Uchiha inheritance still tied up? How could he afford such expensive taste?

Nevermind.

Naruto laid it flat on the bed. "Here you go."

Gamabufo hopped up to it and began conducting some form of a toad's examination. It seemed like instinct negated the need for any explanation, so Naruto chewed his food happily and waited patiently for the little guy to do his thing.

A few moments later, Gamabufo looked up at Naruto.

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

_Eh?!_

"What _were_ you doing with it?! I thought you were sniffing it!"

"I mean, I was just admiring it—Sasuke's got some good taste. Where'd he get it?"

Naruto almost fell over—maybe he should've summoned the juvenile's father instead. "Can't you pick up a scent on it? It should lead us to the scroll," he cried.

…

…

...

"I mean, I can smell things, but no. I'm a toad."

Naruto's face fell. "Really? You can't do anything about it?"

"Well can _you_ 'pick up a scent' and track things with _your_ nose?"

"B-but… Kakashi's… Pakkun..."

"Look boss, here's what I can do. If you want something gone, I can swallow it and it'll disappear. That's about my only party trick unless you want me to fight something."

Naruto started chuckling nervously.

Sasuke might've been sleeping, but Naruto could just imagine his rival commenting on how little Naruto had to show for the past few years of training with his summons. And now he was being scolded by a juvenile toad. "Well... it was worth a shot anyway… I guess…"

"Since I'm here, I guess I should remind you—pops and gramps are waiting for you to master sage mode so you can start using frog kumite."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "I've been meditating every night. I swear I'm getting close."

The toad dipped his head. "Keep up the good work then. Until next time," said Gamabufo as he saluted and puffed out of the room.

 _Well that was a bust._ Naruto dropped his head in defeat.

A voice startled him. "We'll continue our search tomorrow. You should get some rest now."

"Cripes!" Naruto jumped. "Weren't you supposed to be _sleeping_?" The real question was, had Sasuke witnessed that whole thing?

"It's hard for me to sleep through all the noise."

Naruto glared.

Again, it didn't have its intended effect. It was like he was Guy and Sasuke was Kakashi, leagues away in coolness.

What was he doing again? _Oh—that's right._ He was eating.

"Anosa… Sasuke. I have a question for you," Naruto said between eager bites of food. "You could've cast genjutsu on Tsuta to get your answers. Why did you go through the trouble of seducing her?"

Sasuke closed his eyes again, this time intertwining his hands behind his head as a pillow. "I wanted to see what you would do," he replied, casually.

Naruto almost choked. _What I would do?_

"I didn't think you'd be a scaredy cat," his teammate jabbed.

Naruto pointed an accusing finger. "You made us go through all that trouble and you were just fooling around the whole time!"

 _Bastard_. Naruto picked up his waterskin to chug some water, as if to wash away the taste of that experience.

"I don't use genjutsu," Sasuke said, a little more quiet this time.

"What do you mean? Isn't Sharingan...?"

"I mean it's not what I'm good at."

 _Aha._ The _real_ reason why he didn't use genjutsu. So it seemed like _Sasuke-kun_ wasn't such a perfect Uchiha after all. _I wonder if Sakura knows that,_ Naruto thought to himself mischievously.

Another question popped into his head. "Wait a second. How'd you recognize Sakura so quickly at the bar? She henged into a blonde."

A few long seconds passed, and he received no response.

"Sasuke?"

Again, no response.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. There was no way Sasuke had just fallen asleep.

After another few long seconds, his teammate's unmoving body suggested that maybe he really did.

Nevermind, then.

Finishing up the last bit of his food, Naruto tossed his trash and unraveled his sleeping bag. He placed it over his side of the bed, making sure to leave Sakura ample space next to him when she returned. Afterwards, he flopped on top, resting his back against a pillow as he rubbed his full tummy.

He decided to wait for the food to settle down and maybe go meditate afterwards. He picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels in the meantime.

Twenty or so minutes later, Sasuke _still_ hadn't moved from his position. Probably too exhausted from all that _partying_ with Tsuta, Naruto thought bitterly.

Now that he thought about it, he was glad Sakura's chakra disappeared when it did. He'd had his fair share of one night stands, but they were always with women he'd gotten to know first. He always felt like those activities would be best enjoyed with someone special.

He just couldn't believe how embarrassing he was in front of Sasuke. It wasn't fair—even though the back of his head truly looked like a duck's butt, girls always liked Sasuke better. It was no wonder he was okay with doing that stuff.

Naruto began to play with the spikes at the top of his own head, then sighed. Should he try to grow out his hair too? Get bangs maybe?

Suddenly, Sasuke's voice startled him. And what he said bothered the _hell_ out of him.

"I recognized Sakura because… I know what the back of her body looks like."

* * *

**To be continued…**


	17. Mirrors

_It's been hours,_ Sakura thought to herself. Surely her teammates would be asleep by now?

But as she neared the end of the hallway, she saw that there was light and the sounds of a TV blasting from the little sliver of space under one of the doors. Dread began to stir in the pit of her stomach.

That was her room, right?

Unless the inn suddenly grew an extra hallway while she was out, it was hers.

_Damn it._

At first, Sakura turned around, ready to walk back down the stairs and out the inn again. But she'd been sleep deprived for the last couple nights and she really needed the rest right now. The only option was to enter the room and face whatever horror awaited inside.

_Here we go._

"Welcome back," the Jinchuriki called from on top of his sleeping bag as she opened the door.

The first thing she noticed was that there was stuff _everywhere._ Articles of clothing—mostly orange—were sprawled over the desk chair, on the floor, and—

Was that a tank top hanging off the lamp?

The second thing was exactly how compact the sleeping arrangement was—her teammates had aligned their sleeping bags on both sides of the bed, leaving a small crevice of space in between them, presumably for her to sleep inside the covers of the actual bed.

Now _that_ was close quarters.

Sasuke's sleeping bag was empty. She almost asked the Jinchuriki where he went, but instead decided not to question her luck.

Sakura hung her cloak and slid off her boots. She grabbed her empty waterskin and headed to the bathroom to get some tap water.

"Wait Sakura—"

It was too late. She'd already slid the door open, and the fragrance of men's soap and a hot puff of steam hit her in the face.

She saw skin.

She saw muscle.

She saw Sasuke.

_Shit!_

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that she could gouge them out. The thin towel around his waist left almost _nothing_ to her imagination. She could only stand there dumbly knowing it was all her fault for not knocking.

Slowly, calmly _,_ Sasuke took his excruciating sweet-ass time as he finished pulling a shirt over his head and hanging his towel.

To be clear, she was _not_ thinking about his wet hair clinging to his perfectly pronounced jaw. She had _not_ noticed how the moisture on his chest only enhanced every crevice of his pectoral muscles, which, to be _absolutely_ clear, she only noticed because of her anatomical expertise—and… and _purely_ scientific curiosity—

Sasuke approached. And then he got so close that she could _feel_ the heat radiating off his body. She held her breath so she wouldn't have to smell him too.

He dipped his head so that his mouth was next to her ear, and a single drop of water fell from his head onto her shoulder.

"You can open your eyes now."

He moved so gracefully past her that Sakura didn't even know he had, until a warm breeze tickled her face and she heard the flip of the light switch.

She wasn't comfortable opening her eyes until she heard the balcony door open on the opposite side of the room.

And then her starved lungs gasped for air.

* * *

It was nothing short of a miracle to have survived the rest of last night, considering that Sakura's blood pressure—the stubborn son of a gun—refused to correct itself after her near heart attack. It also didn't help that the source of the problem settled into his sleeping bag right next to her, shirtless, afterwards.

The humiliation carried on in the night, until at some ungodly hour she lay awake, staring at the ceiling, having tossed and turned for what seemed like forever. Thinking about it gave her a small rise in blood pressure again, and then she was forced to admit that _fine_ , maybe, perhaps she _supposed_ Sasuke wasn't absolutely _terrible_ looking, kinda, and she hoped that admittance would allow the universe to give her some peace.

The next morning, the three of them ate their breakfasts quietly, and as planned, found the rug and carpet store recommended to them by Sasuke's lead from yesterday.

But none of that mattered because it was a dead end.

**OUR STORE IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.**

"Sasuke, didn't Tsuta say this shop is open 24/7? Should we come back later?" the Jinchuriki asked. He managed to weave his arms through the iron bars securing the store's window and peered through the glass with his hands cupped around his eyes.

Sakura did the same.

The store was surprisingly spacious and in good condition, as if someone had kept up appearances even if no customers were allowed inside.

Rows and rows of giant rectangular-cut kaleidoscopes hung from metal railings suspended from the ceiling and stacks of rolled-up rugs formed neat aisles. The far back of the room housed two plush couches arranged on either sides of a glass coffee table.

It seemed the giant banner announcing the store's closure wasn't bluffing. Evidently, Tsuta, or whatever her name was, was wrong—there was no one inside.

"It looks like they still take appointments, though," the Jinchuriki said, pointing to a tiny piece of paper placed by the door of the main entrance.

**APPTS AVAILABLE!**

Finally, a small win!

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief that maybe the universe decided to go easy on her today. They only needed to schedule a time to talk to the shop owner, it seemed.

"Is there contact information at all?" she asked, checking over the door to make sure she didn't miss a name or address.

"Nothing here," said the Jinchuriki.

"There won't be," said Sasuke, pointing to the next window over.

Sakura would've almost missed the small slip of paper. It looked like had been torn out of a notebook, with hurried, scribbled letters:

**APPOINTMENTS FOR EXISTING CLIENTS ONLY.**

It was like the universe was mocking her.

Or, at the very least, the owner himself couldn't decide between teasing or angering his customers.

"This doesn't make sense." Sasuke picked up the note and flipped it around to see if there was any writing on the back, but it was blank.

"Yeah—which is it?" the Jinchuriki asked. "Are they closed, taking appointments, or only taking appointments from existing clients? How is anyone supposed to get their new carpet?"

"No, not that," Sasuke said. "The carpet stuff is a front. The part that's weird is, it just so happens the day after we inquire, it's suddenly closed? The timing is too convenient."

Sakura didn't know why Sasuke took that Tsuta woman so seriously. So what if the store wasn't actually open all the time? Like he said, the store was a front. It probably only stayed open when it had to.

"And," he continued, "between closing yesterday and today, the owner came back twice to leave notes. That part is weird."

"He seems to be concerned about his existing clientele—maybe he doesn't want to lose them," Sakura guessed. But then again, she wouldn't have seen those scribbled notes if she wasn't looking for them. It was unlikely that a client would see them if they stopped by too.

Sasuke had a point. It was weird.

"Well that just means this person will be back again soon, right?" The Jinchuriki grinned, forming a cross sign with his two hands. He looked around to make sure that no one was watching."I can use a clone to babysit this spot until then."

Actually, that wasn't such a bad idea.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Sakura and Sasuke waited as a second Jinchuriki appeared, grinning just as big as the original.

"Hey Naruto, watch this place until I get back, will ya?" He sent a cheery thumbs up to his clone, or at least who Sakura believed to be the clone, although she couldn't be too sure.

The enthusiasm between the two clones was quite endearing, which Sakura was surprised to feel. Truth to be told, she could use a little optimism considering her losing streak lately.

"Sure thing, Naruto! I could really use the chance to meditate!"

"Alright, me! What a good idea!"

"You're awesome, me!"

_..._

_Nevermind._

Sakura felt a vein in her forehead twitch, and her hand began to itch for contact with the blondes' skulls as they continued their over-the-top banter. It was a fleeting appreciation she'd felt, after all.

"Enough," Sasuke said. "I'm leaving."

"Hold on—we haven't decided on our next steps," Sakura said to Sasuke's half-turned body.

"Let's talk over lunch." The Jinchuriki nodded to his clone, who disappeared into the nearest trees, before turning his attention to them again.

"Our time is limited, so we should be strategic about how we spend it," Sakura said. "I'm not sure taking a leisurely lunch is the best way." Truth be told, she was feeling quite dejected already. There wasn't a single glimmer of hope in their current situation.

"We have the highest probability of obtaining leads from bars, which won't be open until the evening. This store was our only lead for the time being," Sasuke said. "We can eat lunch until we find something else."

They _did_ have another lead, actually. Sakura was working on it at the gambling spot yesterday before she was... interrupted. But she became too damned intoxicated to retain any of that information, and she wasn't about to admit that. "Okay," she sighed.

"Perfect," the Jinchuruki said. "I know just the place."

* * *

"I am ordering everyone to _stop_ instigating _more_ conflict between the Leaf and the last standing Uchiha in Konoha. _Now._ "

Like it didn't piss her off enough the first time, Danzo was bringing up that snakeskin, allegedly from Ryuchi cave, again. Except this time, he brought the other two geezers into it too, and they supposedly had evidence that it really was Sasuke.

"Tsunade, no need to—"

The chair she was leaning on splintered under her grip, sending a startle through the three elders sitting around the table.

Their disapproving looks only infuriated her more—Tsuande knew she never became anyone other than the First's spoiled granddaughter in their eyes, even at her ripe age of sixty-something.

The worst of the three geezers sat facing her, smug with contempt, with his free arm resting on the table. He hadn't said a word. He didn't _have_ to. He had Homura and Koharu wrapped around his finger, doing all the heavy lifting.

Danzo really did it. His team somehow found a single strand of red hair, which based on the intel Morino obtained during his interrogation, belonged to Sasuke's companion. So that put Sasuke and his ex-teammate at the scene four weeks ago, where there was evidence of some kind of battle.

"You originally said Sasuke never killed anyone besides Konoha's enemies," said Koharu. "Now we have evidence that says otherwise. So that begs the question—can we really trust that boy?"

"We don't know what happened to Sasuke and his partner that night. I don't want to rush to conclusions," Tsunade said. What she didn't say was that she was suspicious that Danzo was able to salvage so much of the evidence, even though her own team hadn't picked up anything.

"But Tsunade," Homura said,"there is danger in giving the child the benefit of the doubt. If this is connected to all the other disappearances, we could be housing an international criminal. Other villages—even Suna—may retaliate to get justice for their shinobi. We must be cautious."

"There is nothing connecting the disappearances to Sasuke," Tsunade reassured. "Unless we obtain _new_ evidence that can link all the crimes and point them to Sasuke beyond a shadow of a doubt, you will _stop—_ "

"I'm so glad you brought up the concept of evidence, Tsunade," Danzo said, finally breaking his silence.

What did the geezer have up his sleep this time? He was probably going to make some type of ridiculous leap in logic again, to place blame on Sasuke. _Annoying._

"We must consider many variables when we use evidence to form a conclusion," she said. "Pictures can be doctored. First-hand anecdotes are unreliable. We have advanced science that we should use, for example, Konoha has adopted DNA—"

"Wonderful," Danzo interrupted. "You keep records of DNA samples of _all_ Leaf shinobi?"

Tsunade glared at the fact that he kept cutting her off. "Of course," she replied.

"It just so happens that Iwa shares in death with us. They've handed us some samples. Why don't we compare them to your DNA records to see if it's a match with Sasuke's?"

Koharu and Homura looked to Danzo incredulously. "Tsunade sent Team 7 on a mission to Iwa just a few days ago. Don't tell me Sasuke has already gotten into trouble—"

"Impossible," Tsunade said. "Our nations' relations are not that good. They wouldn't tell us these things. And how would you have gotten those so quickly?"

"I have friends in many places, Tsunade."

The comment disturbed her. Was Danzo working behind the scenes again?

She didn't have many contacts in Iwa, aside from the Tsuchikage, his family members, and Iwa's council. That's why she sent Team 7 with the scroll—otherwise they'd have gone another 10 years without speaking. And, of course, _she_ had to go to _him—_ Tsuchikage would never send Iwa-nin to their territory.

"Still," Tsunade said. "We can't trust that the DNA wasn't planted—"

"Enough, Tsunade." Homura, the usual peacekeeper, was now beginning to lose his patience. "Danzo is a respectable member of Konoha. Do not accuse him of treason. There is no harm in testing to see if the DNA is a match with Sasuke's."

"And that's the most _unfortunate_ part of it all," Danzo began.

The way he emphasized the word indicated to Tsunade that he meant the exact opposite.

"The report is already on your desk, Hokage." Danzo said. "The DNA is a match."

* * *

Sakura found herself in front of a tucked-away nook, at a quaint hole-in-the-wall diner with a modest 'help wanted' sign in front.

"Irasshaimase!" A plump woman in her mid fifties greeted them with a welcoming smile. When she saw the Jinchuriki, her face brightened up. "You again! Back so soon?"

"I had to bring my team—"

Sasuke jutted an elbow into the Jinchuriki's ribs before he could finish that sentence.

"My _friends_ ," Naruto said. "I had to bring my friends back to try your other dishes. The bentos you gave me last night were delicious!"

"Welcome, friends," the woman said as she ushered the three of them to a table.

As Sakura was handed a worn menu, she noticed that there was nobody else there. They must've beat the lunchtime crowd.

"I think I'll try something new," the Jinchuriki said, perusing the lunch specials. "The number two, please."

The woman nodded and pulled a pen and pad from her apron to jot down some notes. She looked to Sakura and Sasuke for their orders.

"Soba noodles for me, thanks," Sasuke said, returning his menu.

"Onigiri, please," Sakura said.

"Ena, did you hear that? Throw in some salted eggs, too! These three look like they need the energy!"

"Hai," came a young voice from the back.

The Jinchuriki gave an embarrassed chuckle. It was hard for Sakura to believe that the owner of this restaurant just met him last night. The way the woman treated the Jinchuriki was like they'd known each other for years, even going so far as to treat her and Sasuke, mere strangers, with the same kindness.

"Thanks, Mrs. Yasumichi! I'll be sure to leave you an extra large tip!" he said with a thumbs up.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, son," she responded. "I like your energy. It's nice to have a change around here."

Sakura looked around. She could see what the woman meant. The place was a bit dreary looking, and they probably didn't get much business. Maybe there was no lunchtime crowd to beat.

As soon as Mrs. Yasumichi was outside of earshot, Sasuke got right down to business. "We should prepare for the possibility that we won't get the scroll back at all," he said.

Sakura knew this was coming. Knowing the way criminals operated, it was probably long gone by now, sold by some scumbag who wanted to make a quick buck. "So do we pull the plug on the mission?" she asked.

"You guys can't be serious," the Jinchuriki said. "This is our _first_ mission as Team 7."

"Naruto, we would only embarrass Konoha if we showed up empty-handed," Sasuke said. "Statistically speaking, there's a very low chance the carpet store has it. And we can't even get in contact with the owner right now."

The Jinchuriki tightened his fists. "That's not what I mean," he said, shaking his head.

Mrs. Yasumichi came back to the table and put a plate of sliced eggs on the table, complete with toothpicks to share. The Jinchuriki smiled and nodded his thanks before turning a somber expression to Sakura and Sasuke once again.

"Sakura—baa-chan told Tsuchikage that we'd deliver a scroll full of common antidotes, right?"

"Common to Konoha," Sakura corrected. "Not common to everybody else. That's why the scroll can't be opened by just anybody."

"So how hard would it be to recreate the scroll?"

Sakura blinked.

_Recreate the scroll?_

And then the wheels in her head began turning.

The Jinchuriki continued. "How would Iwa know if we just gave them the same antidotes in a different scroll?"

"They… wouldn't," she said. She'd been operating under constraints that she put onto the mission, on herself, without even realizing it. Iwa didn't care about the package. They only wanted the stuff inside.

How could she not have thought of that?

"Let's stay one more night," the Jinchuriki said, encouragingly. He picked up a toothpick and started eating the complimentary tea-bag eggs. "Worst case scenario is that we're just a little late to Iwa, right?"

Sasuke already began planning. "Let's say we can. Sakura—what kinds of materials will you need? Would you be able to find them here?"

"I just need an empty scroll, for me to write in, I guess. And I can shop for some herbs to see if I can make something to go along with it," Sakura said. She might as well put that cash to good use. "It'll make for a better present that way."

She looked at her teammates, surprised, and feeling her appreciation swell at the fact that a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The Jinchuriki's idea was exactly the type of out-of-the-box thinking she needed. Not only that—it seemed they were making progress as a team, finally.

 _Can you really go through with it?_ A small voice asked from inside her head.

Sakura was reminded of the bottom line. Going to Iwa would support her ulterior motive to secure Tsuchikage's loyalty to Akatsuki. She felt a twinge of guilt that, at the end of all this, she was going to send these two to their deaths. And now they were just helping her do it.

 _But the Jinchuriki is just a vessel_ , she reminded herself. And Sasuke was just her partner's pesky little brother.

She could go through with it.

Their food arrived at the next moment, forcing Sakura out of her dark thoughts.

The three of them quickly took the rest of the remaining appetizer to make space on their table.

"By the way," Sakura addressed Mrs. Yasumichi, "we're looking to buy some medical herbs and plants. Where can I find a specialty shop?"

"Our family doctor specialized in those," she said. "He moved away a few years ago, and then a new doctor came into town. Kiya, my son, only went to the new one once. Actually it was one of the last places he visited before he—"

She stopped mid sentence.

"Sorry, I don't mean to ramble. I'll go get my phonebook," she said, hurrying away.

A photo behind the counter caught Sakura's eye. In it, Mrs. Yasumichi stood with a man and two young children. She wore a carefree smile as they posed right outside the entrance of the diner.

"Before he what?" Sasuke asked when the woman returned.

"My husband died a few years back. My daughter, Ena, and her older brother, Kiya, helped me stay afloat. But Kiya was kidnapped exactly four weeks and three days ago. September 2nd."

The Jinchuriki frowned. "And the police never found out what happened."

Sakura looked at Mrs. Yasumichi again. Suddenly, her eyes looked much more wrinkly and tired than Sakura had noticed before. The under eye bags and grey hair were absent in the family portrait.

"The police said it was unlikely for a grown man to be kidnapped. They said he probably ran away with a woman in the middle of the night. But I know my son. He wouldn't leave us."

Mrs. Yasumichi passed an address to Sakura.

"Thank you," Sakura said. "I'm sorry about your son."

"There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about what happened to him. It's a mother's worst fear—to wake up one day, thinking that your children are safe, only to find out that you'll never see your son again. Sometimes I pray that Kiya _did_ run off with a woman, because then at least I would know that he's happy."

It was sad. The family hadn't received any help, and they probably got no closure either.

Sakura thought about her parents. It seemed shinobi weren't the only ones who suffered.

"I don't mean to spoil your lunch," the woman said, forcing back tears with a fake smile. "Please enjoy your meal."

Sakura knew there was nothing she could say or do to make the situation any better. Still, she couldn't help but think that even if Leader did succeed with reforming the shinobi world, there was an entire other world full of potential hurt.

That gave Sakura something to think about for the rest of lunch.

* * *

"Where is everyone today?" the Jinchuriki asked with his face up against the glass, again, giving her a case of deja vu.

Sasuke tried knocking on the door again, this time a little louder than the last.

Sakura stood behind her two teammates, doing her best to keep the stack of money she'd organized from her bucket hidden in her pocket. After lunch, they went to their room to count it, and found that she'd taken no less than 8500 ryo from that man in the gambling bar yesterday.

She would've been embarrassed if she wasn't about to spend it all on very high-end ingredients that would undoubtedly please the Tsuchikage, especially if she, the apprentice to Hokage, personally taught Iwa medic-nins how to get the most value out of the ingredients. She'd even bought a giant bag for it all.

"Are you sure this is the right address?" Sasuke asked her.

"I'm sure."

The Jinchuriki stepped aside to allow room for Sasuke to check the window too.

 _Don't_ , Sakura told herself. She stared ahead, purposefully keeping her gaze unfocused so that it wouldn't settle on a certain somebody.

She'd done so well all day, it almost pained her to think that she was about to betray herself.

She had to resist the urge to do it. It was just wrong, on so many levels.

_Resist. The. Urge._

One look couldn't hurt.

When Sakura was sure that Sasuke wasn't looking, her eyes began to indulge in a little wandering. They first started at his feet. And then they trailed upwards, to his narrow waist, and then finally settled on his back as he inspected the inside of the office.

She looked to his left, where the Jinchuriki waited patiently. The two men were pretty much the same height and build, but for some reason looking at Sasuke's broad shoulders made her feel a little excited.

She couldn't stop herself now that she started. She'd suddenly become hyper aware that the shirt he wore was just getting in her way, hiding all the—

Sasuke punched the window. The glass shattered, sending a loud crash and a million broken pieces of glass pouring onto the ground.

What the hell was he doing?!

Sasuke stuck his arm through the now open window, fumbling around with his bent arm until Sakura heard the click of the lock. The door swung open, inviting them inside.

"Sasuke…" the Jinchuriki said quietly. "What are you doing?"

"We're breaking in," their teammate responded coolly as he stepped into the office.

Sakura gawked.

When she managed to get a hold of herself, she looked behind to see if anyone saw or heard them.

The coast was clear.

 _But still,_ she thought. How could Sasuke tout their need to stay under the radar when he was going around trespassing in doctors' offices?

"We're here to buy, not _steal,"_ Sakura whispered. "I don't have enough cash to cover the herbs _and_ a new window! And what if we get caught?"

"We haven't triggered any traps or signals," Sasuke said. "I've already clocked the place."

The office was a clean suite, with a modest reception desk and another door on the opposite wall. Sakura looked around once again, paranoid that they'd be discovered. It would just be the _worst_ if someone opened that door and caught them red-handed.

"Sakura, look."

She jumped. Sasuke had appeared silently behind her, pointing to a label.

**Dr. Jaaku**

She remembered. "That's—"

"You've said his name before," the Jinchuriki said. "He's supposed to be some type of criminal?"

It was the lead that she'd struggled to remember earlier in the day.

"I overheard someone say that Dr. Jaaku is not to be trusted. He has some kind of criminal network. But I didn't expect Mrs. Yasumichi's family to lead us to him."

"Let's see what we can find," Sasuke said as he began rummaging through the papers on the reception desk. "Go look for the herbs you need."

Sakura and the Jinchuriki started opening drawers and cabinets, but most of what they found was empty space or new patient questionnaires, records, and invoices. As a medical expert herself, Sakura could see nothing out of the ordinary.

Just when she was going to say something, one of the drawers Sasuke opened caught her attention.

"Wait."

"It's empty," Sasuke said, stopping mid-movement.

"No, it's not."

She started knocking her hand against the inside surfaces of the cabinet as Sasuke and the Jinchuriki watched.

 _Right there._ Her knocks were hollow.

"Kakashi has one of these," she said mischievously, as she used chakra to stick her hand to the thin piece of wood covering the false bottom of the cabinet. She smiled with anticipation as she thought about what interesting item she might find underneath.

"It's just a folder," the Jinchuriki said.

Well that was anticlimactic.

Sakura pulled out the slip of paper from inside:

NUMBER DELIVERED COST STATUS

3829 - March 3rd - 20,000 - Paid

4113 - May 1st - 145,000 - Paid

1567 - June 18th - 112,000 - Paid

2246 - July 21st - 95,000 - Paid

3129 - September 3rd - 202,000 - Paid

2813 - October 21st - 155,000 - Paid

2525 - November 1st - 180,000 - Paid

2196 - November 21st - 35,000 - Paid

"It's some kind of log," she said, passing it to Sasuke.

"We should find out what the IDs correspond to. It must be significant for him to have to hide it like that. And look at the date and cost of the last item—2196 looks like it could be the scroll," he said.

Sakura thought about it. November 21st was just a few days ago, when the scroll first went missing. And she supposed she could see how some idiot would pay 35,000 ryo for it.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan. The swirl of the tomoes in his eyes told Sakura that he'd just memorized the entire thing, which meant they could leave the folder where they found it.

Sakura put everything back to their original position and threw some of the stray, less-confidential papers onto the ground, so that it would look like a regular break-in and not a professional act.

"Good idea, Sakura," the Jinchuriki followed. Likewise, he began pulling the drawers out of place, making an even bigger mess of the whole room.

"We should get going soon. Let's see what's behind that door—that's probably where the medical supplies are," Sakura said.

The Jinchuriki went ahead and tried to unlock it, but it was bolted shut. He kicked a little harder, and Sakura almost thought that the wood was going to break in half with how loudly the impact thundered.

"I'll use Rasengan," he said, holding out a hand for his signature move.

Sasuke stopped him. "It's an electrical lock. I'll just deactivate it."

Sure enough, the lock fried itself when their lightning-natured teammate applied a little jolt of electricity.

As the door opened, they were immediately surrounded by cold air. The room was lit with stale fluorescent light, with jars of unrecognizable items placed on side cabinets for display, and a long and wide metal table in the center of the room. Three small metal trays, which were adorned with assorted tools for poking and prodding, lined up on the sides of the table.

The place felt more like a torture chamber than anything else.

"You two look around. I'll keep an eye out," Sasuke said, positioning himself just outside of the examination room so that he was facing the door leading outside. "The broken glass is bound to attract some bypassers."

"The medical supplies have to be somewhere," Sakura mumured. Starting from the very edge of the wall, she started to systematically check each cabinet, shifting gauze pads, splints, and jars of sterilization alcohol.

"I wonder if there's anything to drink in that fridge."

"Focus, Naruto," she replied without looking up.

The sound of the opening fridge alerted her that she was being ignored.

"What is _that?"_

Sakura stopped mid-search and peaked at whatever he was looking at, expecting to see some type of refreshment.

It was somebody's spleen.

She looked at his uncertain expression, halfway between perplexed and disgusted.

"Do you _really_ want to know?" she whispered.

He turned pale and swiftly closed the refrigerator door.

She giggled.

"Help me find where he keeps the herbs," Sakura said, hoping to distract him from the gory thoughts. She forgot how squeamish he could be.

Ninjin, tomoshiri grass, renge—where were they hidden? These were the types of high-end herbs she always complained about in Konoha, for either being too expensive or in short supply. Given all those zeros she saw in his log earlier, this Dr. Jaaku person was definitely loaded with the best of the best, if only she could find his inventory.

"We're trying to win Iwa over, you know," the Jinchuriki said between searches. "I hope you don't give them one of your death balls."

Sakura glared. Maybe she should've told him that the spleen was a special type of pickle instead. It would've been fun to watch him open the jar and gag.

"What?" he said. "I'm just being honest! They're awful."

"Hurry up in there," Sasuke called from outside.

"Naruto—if you're not going to help, just collect whatever important-looking things you can find. But make it messy—we want to make this look like a regular burglary or something."

Sakura opened up the last cabinet. _Bingo._

She took out her bag and started funneling everything from the top rack into it.

"U-uh, guys," the Jinchuriki said, clutching a bundle of papers as he backed away from the countertop.

She knew that sound.

The countertop covered in explosive tags. They were about to be detonated.

"Run!"

Sakura's first thought was that she couldn't get to her teammates in time. She had nowhere to go but through the wall.

It happened in a flash.

As the blinding explosions ensued, she'd managed to create an opening, but the momentum of the tags threw her into the air and she landed on the ground with a thud.

Her ears rang. Her eyes were blinded. She coughed.

_The Jinchuriki._

Was he okay?

What about Sasuke?

"Naruto! Sasuke—ouch..."

A sharp pain ripped through the side of her ribcage, and she realized that she'd landed a chunk of the building's debri.

That was going to bruise.

She brought a hand to her head to wipe away sweat at her brow.

It was blood.

Whoever it was that set the trap had gotten them good. They'd been taken by surprise.

Beside her, the bag of herbs was miraculously intact, albeit a little crushed, but she couldn't care less. The office had been completely decimated and there was going to be a lot of attention on the scene very quickly.

"Sasuke?!" She heard the Jinchuriki's voice behind a wall of thick dust and smoke. "Sakura—help!"

It seemed like the Jinchuriki was conscious, at least, but the panic in her body would not settle until she saw him with her own two eyes. She scrambled to her feet and followed the voice, coughing.

When some of the air settled, her stomach tied into knots at the sight. The Jinchuriki looked tattered and beat, which was the least she could expect, but he was still standing. Sasuke was—

"Sakura—he needs help…" the blonde said, holding their teammate upright.

It looked like Sasuke was fading in and out of consciousness. Half of his shirt had been torn off, and the exposed skin looked like it had second or third-degree burns.

How did this happen? The Jinchuriki was standing right next to the explosive tags. Sasuke was by the door, farther away, wasn't he?

Sakura hurried to his side and immediately began to channel healing chakra into Sasuke.

"He just jumped in front of me—his cursed seal… i-it...his wing shielded us..." the Jinchuriki stammered.

It was obvious he felt guilty.

"It's not your fault," Sakura said. Burns were easy to heal, and Sasuke's were already disappearing. "Can you walk?"

Sasuke nodded, still leaning on the Jinchuriki for support. "Were you able to salvage whatever you needed?"

"Yeah, but we should get out of here first," Sakura said. Concerned civilians were already beginning to swarm around them. The explosion must've caught the whole town's attention by now.

"I got these stupid papers," the Jinchuriki said, pulling out something crumpled from his jacket pockets. "Doesn't really matter now—everything's gone. They probably won't be able to figure out what's missing and what's not..."

Sakura grabbed the papers. It looked like some kind of patient record, with a name and four-digit number in the header.

Sasuke took one look and his eyes narrowed.

"Those weren't items that we saw in the log earlier. Those were _people."_

* * *

Images of her parents woke her up again. As she laid staring at the ceiling, her overactive, racing mind played and replayed the scenes in her head.

It was the third night in a row that Sakura couldn't sleep.

The death of a family member would never get any less painful. And that brought Sakura to think about the day's earlier discovery, which really, _really_ bothered her. She knew it was none of her business, and she had better things to do with her time, but what the hell was this doctor doing with all those people?

She thought about Mrs. Yasumichi. She and Sasuke had to hold the Jinchuriki back from running straight to the diner afterwards. He kept on saying how the poor mother deserved to know what happened to her son, even if they didn't have any proof.

Was it better to tell her or was it better to let it be? Sakura couldn't decide.

Somehow, she and Sasuke managed to convince the Jinchuriki to wait. And now he was snoring at her feet, beside her, where he'd managed to fight his way out of his cocoon and sprawl his upper torso against her legs as he slept.

But Sakura didn't mind. It was surprisingly comforting to have someone to next to her—

_Wait._

Why was the balcony door open?

Sakura jolted awake and scanned the room.

The left side of the bed next to her was empty.

 _Sasuke_.

Somehow, without waking her, he'd managed to unbolt the door and remove her traps.

Why wasn't he sleeping? Was he having nightmares again?

Nevermind. None of her business.

But then there was that familiar nagging sensation again.

 _Shut up_ , she told the voice in her head, even though it hadn't said anything yet. She knew it would, soon, but this time Sakura wouldn't give it a chance—she quickly got out of bed, satisfied that she'd beat it to the punch and wouldn't have to suffocate from its incessant nagging.

With bare feet, she stepped outside to join her quiet and introspective teammate on the balcony, shutting the sliding door behind her.

"Sasuke? How does your skin feel?" she asked, reaching over to touch his arm where his short sleeves ended.

He flinched and grabbed her hand, which made her jump. "I'm fine."

One of the less talked about aspects of healing jutsu was the phantom sensations left on the patient's bodies for days after the wounds disappeared—the rapid healing often caused a temporary state of confusion in the brain, sending reflexes where there should be none. Evidently, Sasuke was no exception.

"It's nothing," he said, dropping her hand.

She almost snorted. Of course, Sasuke would say severe burns were nothing. He and the Jinchuriki _always_ acted tough in front of her ever since they were kids.

 _So… now what?_ She thought to herself.

Bonding would be now or never, she decided. Easier to tackle one teammate than both at the same time.

"By the way… Sasuke, I never got the chance to thank you."

She supposed that would be a good way to get a pleasant conversation started. Though if he asked, she wouldn't be able to exactly pinpoint what she was thanking him for.

For protecting her when she hyperventilated after hallucinating her parents' maybe-real, maybe-not torture? Maybe.

For taking care of her the next night, when her throat was too parched for her to speak and she was too afraid of her own thoughts to sleep? That was possible, too.

Or how about earlier, for literally putting himself between a few dozen explosive tags and the Jinchuriki, who would've otherwise died and sent all her dreams to shit?

 _Well, fuck._ Sasuke could take his pick.

"You don't have to thank me," he said, breaking her from her thoughts. He continued to stare ahead into the darkness. "It's the least I can do," he added quietly, at almost a whisper.

Even though they shared the same six-foot space on the small balcony, Sakura felt like he was miles away. This was nothing like the Sasuke that had been mercilessly teasing her the past few days. This was the dark, brooding Sasuke that she grew up with.

"What... are you thinking about?" she asked, carefully. She never would've dared to ask that question before, but she was feeling brave right now.

Sasuke turned his head and looked at her pensively.

 _Shit._ Was that a bad thing to ask? Was it too personal?

She braced herself to be shut down, as even a normal, decent conversation between her and Sasuke was already venturing into uncharted territory. In fact, this was probably the first time they talked one-on-one, at length, when Sakura didn't feel like she was being absolutely forced to. The fact that she was voluntarily doing it didn't change the fact that she was pushing her comfort zone.

"Someone's been watching us ever since that night," he said.

She relaxed. At least her question hadn't ruined the moment.

Actually, she felt that someone was watching them too—for the past few days, even. She just thought it was maybe Itachi or a fellow member of Akatsuki waiting for the right moment to reveal himself, so she never said anything about it.

"It started on the night of the ambush. And then in the city, in the alley. At first, I thought it was that group of guys trying to get their money back. But it's not the same. You should have felt it too."

Crap.

That was the exact thought she didn't want Sasuke to think. He'd just get suspicious if she denied it, being the sensory-type on their team, but then he'd be even more suspicious about why she didn't say anything if she _did_ admit to feeling the presence.

"And what's weird about it is, then, the carpet store happened to be closed, and then the doctor's office too, like the person following us is actually somehow ahead of us."

"What's strange to me is the explosive tags," Sakura deflected. "Even if Dr. Jaaku wanted to protect what was inside those papers, why would any regular doctor have them? Where would he get those?"

Sasuke responded after a while. "I don't know."

They fell into silence after that, and Sakura felt a bit relieved that the topic of the conversation seemed to die off on its own. She'd much rather stay focused on the more immediate task of getting a scroll to Iwa so she could start her investigations on behalf of Akatsuki.

But, this was nice for the time being. They both leaned on the wooden railing and stared at the stars, and Sakura kept stealing glances beside her, at her teammate who was still deep in thought.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Sasuke asked, his eyes ahead. "You'll be tired."

"I could say the same to you."

"I'm used to it."

The only reason why she wasn't sleeping was because she couldn't, literally. Did the poison have an effect on _either_ of her teammates, or was it just her?

"The poison. It should've affected us all in the same way," Sakura said. "But it didn't seem to work on you. How come?"

It was only fair for her to know what her teammates saw. She probably made a fool of herself that night—having that complete meltdown and screaming unintelligibly while enemy shinobi had them surrounded.

"It wasn't anything I haven't already seen before," Sasuke said.

Sakura paused. What was _that_ supposed to mean? "What did you see?"

He shifted a little bit, and for a minute, she didn't think he was going to say anything.

"My parents."

She cursed at her own stupidity.

"I'm sorry." A lame response, but she didn't know what else to say.

When they were little, Sakura was too consumed with her childish infatuation to think or care about who Sasuke actually was, as a person, or what he went through and how it affected his personality. In fact, anything other than getting married and having kids was a bore—even the Uchiha clan massacre. It wasn't until it actually affected _her_ when she developed an opinion about it, but that was only because she spent her teenage years in denial, sulking, praying, _pleading_ for Sasuke to return to Konoha. She would've given up anything to make it happen.

She was different now. And Sakura felt he had every right to do what he did—leaving Konoha—because that's what she was in the process of doing right now.

"It wasn't worth it," Sasuke said.

_What?_

What was he talking about?

She must've had a very confused expression on his face because Sasuke glanced at her self-consciously and clarified himself.

"Leaving Konoha, I mean. It wasn't worth it."

Now _that_ she did not expect.

But for fear of accidentally saying something she shouldn't and revealing her own plans, Sakura could only ask questions. And she suddenly had many. Like why did he come back before he completed what he sought out to do? Didn't he care about honoring his clan? His _parents?_

"What made you decide to come back?" she asked.

"I almost didn't."

"But why did you?"

"I still… want the same things," Sasuke replied. "I just want other things too."

Sasuke looked like he was putting his thoughts together, so Sakura waited patiently for him to continue before jumping the gun and saying something she'd regret. But for her own purposes, she felt like his return was premature.

"There will always be suffering. It's the nature of the world that we live in," he continued. "But maybe there's a way to be less miserable. And that's what I came back to Konoha to find."

Wrong. Wrong. _Wrong._

Sasuke was missing the bigger picture.

There wouldn't _always_ be suffering. It didn't have to be that way. Once Akatsuki obtained all the tailed beasts, they could start from scratch and build a just system where something like the Uchiha clan massacre or Sakura's parents' deaths would never happen again.

Take Itachi, for example. He was given a very difficult task when he was forced to slaughter his clan, but he eventually recognized that the shinobi system was broken and that's why he found solace in Akatsuki.

"Nevermind," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. You wouldn't understand."

She understood so much that it hurt. And right now, Sasuke was probably the only person in Konoha who could possibly understand her too.

Looking at him was like looking at herself if she'd gone off and never found the support system and enlightenment in Akatsuki that she was very lucky to have now.

Sasuke shouldn't have gone back to Konoha. That part was obvious. What did he think he was going to find? The village only housed small-picture thinking and put too much emphasis on forming frivolous bonds with all that will-of-fire bullshit.

"Sasuke, I understand—"

"Don't. Just—don't," he sighed. "You don't have to. It's okay—I grew up differently from you."

But she was different now, and maybe she could help him. Maybe she could make him see what Leader was trying to accomplish, and then maybe he wouldn't be stuck in this rut where he thought that the small band-aids Konoha offered were solutions to his problems.

"We're not that different, Sasuke."

He tensed.

That remark seemed to piss him off. She could see him clenching his teeth. But Sakura wouldn't let it deter her, because truly, they weren't that different now. Not anymore.

"Everybody complained about having to go home after school. They complained about having to eat home-cooked meals," he began. "I _dreaded_ going home. All that was waiting at home was for me to scrub my parents' blood off the floor. _That_ was how I spent my dinner times and weekends and birthdays and holidays. And even when the blood stains were gone, I _kept_ on scrubbing because I could still _smell_ them. So tell me, Sakura, how _similar_ is that to your childhood?"

His voice was accusing now, with the anger reflecting in his eyes as he stared her down.

She felt like she'd been slapped in the face. Did he really think she was that shallow still? With none of her own painful stories to share? She'd suffered too. She knew pain. "No. You're wrong. I've had my _own_ experiences—"

"Look, Sakura. I know your parents got sick. I'm sorry. But you can't just—let's just drop it. Just forget it," he muttered as he brushed by her shoulder.

"They didn't get _sick_ Sasuke, they were murdered."

He stopped in front of the door.

Now it was Sakura's turn to be angry. How could he say these things when he got it so _wrong?_ Her parents died because someone in Konoha preferred _money_ over their well-being, and they were killed because of it. What did Sasuke mean by the fact that they got _sick_?

"Sakura, that was the poison," Sasuke replied, shakily. He was trying to restrain himself from losing his temper, and the effort was visible. "I know how your parents really died. Tsunade told me. I'm sorry you had to see that. But it wasn't real."

Now she was furious too. These were lies. Lies that Konoha told in order to cover its tracks.

"Don't patronize me, Sasuke. Why's it so hard for you to admit that someone else could understand your pain?"

"It's not. Naruto understood me. Acknowledged my pain. Everybody else treated it like a disease, and he was willing to tackle it by my side, head-on. No one else ever came close."

Sakura scoffed. Was Sasuke being serious? The Jinchuriki was just a vessel.

"Fuck. Why does it always come down to this?" Sasuke asked. "Almost every time we talk, it ends in fighting."

"Leave, then."

"You serious, Sakura?" he asked, exasperated.

She turned around to look at the sky again. Behind her, the sliding door opened, Sasuke stepped inside, and then he was gone.

A small part of her knew he wasn't wrong. As a kid, she always complained that her parents never let her have any fun. She didn't like being told to eat her vegetables. She didn't like that she had a curfew.

All those years, Sakura carried on with the life that she took for granted, while Sasuke, her _teammate_ , went home to a cold, dark, and empty house _every_ night, and she didn't think twice about it back then.

But was it her fault? Team 7 _never_ talked about these things. How could she have known? The three of them were completely dysfunctional and their communication suffered, even back then.

Guilt. That was the sensation creeping up in her body at that moment. Because, yes, it was her fault. It wasn't like Sasuke ever verbalized this to the Jinchuriki. He didn't have to. Somehow, the Jinchuriki just _knew_. And maybe that was just the strength of the friendship between those two. But could something as insignificant as friendship have such an impact on someone's life?

Sasuke's words stung because they were true and there was not one thing she could say to change that.

She just had to let him go. It wasn't like she could chase after him right now. She had no right to try to tell him that she understood, and she _couldn't,_ without giving away her position in Akatsuki.

She tried to shove the feelings aside. None of it would matter when she succeeded, right? Nothing would exist anymore, and Leader would pave the way to a new world.

But unlike all the previous times she shoved away her distracting thoughts, this time they were hitting the most deeply personal topics, and it was difficult to not let it get to her.

Just then, a flutter of movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye.

Sakura was alarmed at first, but then she realized that it was just a bird.

Seeing that she wasn't a threat, it flew closer, until it perched itself on the far end of her balcony and looked at her with a cocked head.

It was a black crow.

Sakura sighed. "You remind me of someone."

It only stared back.

_Great._

Not only was she now regularly battling a random voice in her head, but this time she was talking to an animal who definitely did _not_ understand a word she said. She was officially getting crazier by the day.

"Sorry, I don't have a snack for you."

Suddenly, a gust of cold, violent wind tore through the air, sending her hair flying. Her hands jerked to the bottom of her night slip to keep herself covered.

When she looked up again, she saw that figure had materialized next to her.

Her heart stopped.

"Sakura…" he said. "I've found you."

_Itachi._

* * *

**To be continued...**


	18. The Wrap

For some reason, Sakura felt like she'd been caught doing something that she wasn't supposed to, like a child being found with a sticky hand in the cookie jar. A cookie jar named Sasuke.

But she hadn't _really_ done anything, save for touching Sasuke's arm earlier. Itachi couldn't possibly interpret that act as her actually bonding with her Team 7 mates or anything weird like that, because that would've just been pathetic; to develop something as trivial as _feelings_ in the short few weeks she'd been in Konoha. She was merely doing her duty as a captain and a medic-nin, to maximize the efficacy of those she led, right?

Crap—she was rambling.

"Hi, Itachi. How are you doing?"

Sakura inwardly cringed at her own awkwardness.

He seemed to ignore her, like he didn't want to dignify that with a response. He simply motioned for her to follow.

She leapt to someone else's balcony two doors down, and faced him from behind the railing where she wasn't out in the open. He stood on the roof of the next building. Her palms were sweating. Why were her palms sweating?

_Snap out of it._

She'd been stuck with the Jinchuriki and Sasuke for so long that she'd almost gotten used to being stiff and careful and paranoid all the time. She should've been relieved to see Itachi. He was, after all, one of the very few to know her secret—it should've been liberating, even, to be allowed to be the _real_ her, finally.

"You were… less of a challenge to find than I anticipated," Itachi said, finally.

Nothing like an explosion and becoming the local pink-haired menace to lead someone straight to you, though it wasn't part of the original plan.

"I'm glad that you were able to find me," she said. Super glad. 110%.

Now that he was here, she wouldn't need to continue to be on Team 7. Thank goodness _that_ was over—Itachi could just waltz into the room behind her, take the Jinchuriki, and she and Akatsuki could get on with their business.

As soon as Sakura had some time to mentally adjust to her partner's sudden arrival, she forced her head back into the game. She was ready. It was a wrap—the final showdown.

But where were Kisame and Hidan?

"You're sure you haven't been made?"

Er—well, she'd definitely been _spotted_ , but no, she didn't think anybody knew her affiliation with Akatsuki. At the beginning, she thought Sasuke might've been suspicious of her, but that issue hadn't come up since.

"Positive."

"You haven't spoken to anyone of significance, have you? Outside of conducting your normal mission activities?"

"No," she assured. Well, there _was_ Sasuke's inkling that they were being watched the past few days, but… that was probably just Itachi. "We're en route to deliver a scroll of antidotes to Tsuchikage. But now that you're here, that won't be necess—"

Itachi tossed her something.

She fumbled to catch it.

Okay, it seemed he wanted to skip the pleasantries. Itachi was always a blunt one who kept a strict list of narrow topics for discussion. That was fine. Sakura could handle blunt.

"That's your new communication scroll. Hidan was careless and broke the last one. Monitor as usual."

Her stomach threatened to drop.

Why did she need this? What was going on? Her part was supposed to be done.

"You're here to take the Jinchuriki, aren't you?" Sakura asked, carefully.

Itachi hesitated.

She didn't like where this was going.

"Kisame and Hidan are still near Konoha. They have my real body."

Hope of freedom grew smaller with every passing second, until she finally understood.

"You're a clone."

"One of many."

She'd have to continue to Iwa.

The talons of discomfort began to dig into her intestines again, twisting her stomach into knots until she started to feel sick.

She imagined going back into her room and wedging herself between two enemies, eating more meals with them, looking after them—

Fuck. And she thought she was _so_ close.

Even if she was a spy, proficient in the art of deception, it truly did not sit well with her to have this weird ongoing dynamic with her enemies. Not to mention that things were starting to happen in which she couldn't explain.

"Also, Sakura," Itachi said, "it's being taken care of for the most part, but report anything you find on Iwa's plans. I'm giving you this, too." He handed her a round artifact about the size of her palm.

She suppressed a groan and took the thing. "What is it?"

"One of Leader's jutsus. When it's time, put it around the Jinchuriki's arm, level with where his heart is. It will restrict his movements and chakra until extraction. He won't be able to take it off. You can seal it in this."

He tossed her another inconspicuous scroll, white and plain.

She'd just add this to the growing list of things that she needed to keep hidden from Sasuke and the Jinchuriki—right next to that dark medic scroll gifted by Princess Tsunade. Hopefully this was it, because bulk wasn't going to aid in keeping things hush-hush.

"I'll be leaving, then."

"Wait—" Sakura wasn't done with Itachi just yet. During their conversation, she noticed that he looked even more-worn down since the last time she saw him. "How do your eyes feel? Do you want me to—"

"That will be all," he said.

"I'm concerned about your eyes, Itachi. It looks like you are losing vision."

"My eyes are not the priority right now."

"You're in pain, aren't you?" Sakura insisted. "Stay here. I'm going to get you some healing salve—"

"Sakura, what do you think that will accomplish? I'm a clone."

She'd have none of it. "Bring it back to your original, then. At this rate you'll go blind—"

"Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement."

" _Cloud_?" Now Itachi was just being ridiculous. "My concern is a medical one, because I'm a _medic,_ and your eyes are an _asset_ , not to mention critical to your own health and well-being."

"Remember what I told you?" he asked.

"But—"

 _Ugh._ Yes. She did.

At the sacrifice of the individual, the collective power was their first priority. It was just easier to follow that rule when it was _herself_ that suffered, and not those around her.

If she went inside, she'd have to shuffle around to find the healing salve. If either Sasuke or the Jinchuriki woke up and saw what she was doing, they might start asking questions. Since now it looked like she was stuck with the two of them for the foreseeable future, her official primary objective was to keep her covert operation covert until Akatsuki was ready to take the Jinchuriki for real.

"Power first, and all else will follow."

"Fine." Sakura thought back to all of Leader's quotes that had been instilled into her.

 _If our work was easy, everybody would do it,_ she repeated in her own head. _Lead with strength._

According to that doctrine, it was up to individual members of Akatsuki to suck it up if they had to pick between comfort and their mission.

"Allow a few days for my original body to catch up."

A few days. So it was back to her dungeon until then—forced to look after her two worst enemies, continue the whole bonding thing over shared meals and the like. All while keeping her secret intact.

No sweat.

Really.

…

Her partner looked like he was about to leave again. She supposed she'd have to let him go eventually. There was only so much procrastinating she could do.

Itachi paused where he stood.

"So you've woken up," he said, looking at her.

What was he talking about? Of course she was awake.

Itachi's gaze was steady.

She studied him.

He wasn't looking at her. He was looking _behind_ her.

The icy tip of a kunai pressed against Sakura's back before she had a chance to turn.

"One of you is going to tell me what the fuck is going on," a voice said.

"Hello, little brother."

Sakura's breath quickened. She was going to be sick.

"S-sasu—" she stammered. She'd been so engrossed in the dread of her mission that she hadn't even noticed—

"Shut up, Sakura." Sasuke's voice was deliberately cold and devoid of any emotion—not at all like the way they'd conversed just earlier in the night—as he pressed the kunai harder into her back.

She winced when it felt like it broke skin, but she dared not move.

"Are you working with my brother?" he asked.

A thickness began to build in her throat.

She looked to Itachi for help. He was as cool as ever, eyes passive and completely unfazed even though Sakura was sweating.

"It all makes sense," Sasuke continued. "Why you were so desperate to go on this mission in the first place. Why you flared your chakra and refused to set traps the first night. Why you got so drunk and _loud_. It was all for _him,_ wasn't it? You were playing us the whole time." _You were playing me the whole time_.

No—she was mistaken. His voice wasn't devoid of emotion. It betrayed disbelief. Hatefulness. Hurt.

The thickness in her throat built into a big, solid, lump. Her mouth dried. She suddenly forgot how to swallow.

Sasuke yanked her hair painfully. "Answer me."

His pull forced her head backwards. With his other hand, Sasuke repositioned his kunai to her throat.

Her exposed neck jumped upon contact with the sharp edge of the blade.

She could feel his body against her now—their heads were close, the skin on his arms grazing against her bare shoulder, his own thumping chest at her back. Sakura racked her brain for something, _anything_ , not even sure if she could salvage the situation or if she should just jump to Itachi's side and make a run for it.

"Itachi," Sasuke said, "I swear to god I'll—"

"What," he replied, so apathetic to the point of mocking. "Kill her?"

Sasuke pulled on Sakura's hair harder, his grip tighter, undoubtedly reflecting the uncontrollably rising anger and deep-seated thirst for vengeance bubbling in his body.

Vengeance once intended for Itachi.

Desperately, Sakura kept her eyes focused on her unmoving partner. She'd follow his lead if he thought of something, but for now, she had to do something—fast.

Her mind raced for options.

Her upper body was enclosed by Sasuke's. The railing of the balcony would restrict movement in her lower body. These were her constraints.

If she attacked Sasuke and made a run for it, her cover would be blown for sure. Akatsuki's trump card would be for naught and they'd have to start from square one. But the problem with attacking Itachi was that she'd have to do it without breaking free, and in the end, she didn't know if Sasuke would believe it.

The potentiality for either possibility was bleak.

She had to try.

_Sorry, Itachi._

Sakura channeled chakra to her foot and prepared to kick the balcony and hurl shards of splintered wood toward her partner. She lifted her leg and—

Itachi vanished.

She blinked, surprised.

She tried to analyze where he might land, but he was far too quick for her to make a judgement call. Had he already come up with a counter plan?

Itachi reappeared by her side, sideways, with one hand on the rail and one foot swinging at Sasuke's head.

Sasuke dodged. He maneuvered backwards with Sakura still painfully trapped in his grip. "That's not going to work. You're too slow."

Itachi smirked. "Who said I was aiming for you?" Using the momentum of his first kick, he spun again.

His foot hit the end of the kunai in Sasuke's hand.

It impaled Sakura's throat.

There was a brief flash of mind-blowing pain like she'd never felt before. Then she went numb.

The next few seconds lasted too long.

She heard Sasuke's sharp intake of breath. He staggered backwards, involuntarily tearing the kunai out of Sakura's neck. With it came a fountain of blood.

Hers.

"S-sakura—"

They made short eye contact. She registered Sasuke's wide eyes—disbelief. Shock. Fear.

And that's when Sakura knew that she might die.

The world went hazy.

She frantically pinched at her flesh. Her fingers kept slipping off her skin. Warm, sticky, red fluid gushed over them, lubricating her hand and preventing her from getting a good grasp on the wound. She clutched and clawed. Gasped for breath. The sound resembled more of a suffocated gurgling, erupting from her throat in fits. She was completely at the mercy of her gaping throat.

The rest of the fight would have to happen without her. But that didn't mean she couldn't give a convincing performance. She needed Sasuke to think that she was on his side, even if the odds were currently stacked against her.

"G-get Itachi," Sakura strained to say. Her partner had recovered to his original position on the roof of the adjacent building. She tried to signal understanding to him—to communicate, with her eyes, that she forgave Itachi for what he'd been forced to do and that everything would be okay.

There was no look of sobering regret on his face—nothing apologetic, nothing to indicate that he needed acceptance or understanding. He hadn't even looked at her.

She didn't know if Sasuke heard her comment. His chidori tore through the exterior wall and sliding door, unleashing a high-pitched, explosive, crackling lightning. The shards of glass on the ground did not deter him as he went right through the balcony's railing, tearing it to pieces as he jumped at Itachi with bloodied feet.

Sakura fell against the doorframe onto her knees, unable to contain the spurting blood from her neck that began to form thick puddles beneath her. She flooded her hand with a burst of healing chakra, but she feared it would be too slow.

A woman screamed. Sakura looked to her right. Sasuke had blown a hole in the wall. She saw two strangers in their bed, pale as ghosts. They shuffled to their feet and ran out the other way.

"Sakura!" a voice called.

_The Jinchuriki._

"Tell me what to do," he said as he dashed to her side.

Her own hand began to tingle and go limp. Her hold on her wound began to weaken, sending precious crimson liquid trickling down her neck.

"On m-my back, hold my ne-ck."

She felt herself being pulled onto his lap, with her head propped up on the Jinchriki's thigh.

"Here, let me," he said as he supported her neck and applied firm pressure to her wound. "Just try to get your strength back before you pass out."

She looked up at him with her dazed eyes, seeing that he'd been bloodied too. This whole thing was a shit show.

"Damn it," the Jinchuriki said. "What the hell is going on?"

Sakura missed what'd happened next, but the roof of the building next door came crumbling down, and she suddenly heard many panicked voices, yelling indistinctly, most likely civilians who were oblivious to why their night had been interrupted.

The railing was now gone. The balcony had transformed into a simple ledge on the second story with nothing preventing the two of them from falling if they were somehow knocked to the side. She cursed at her helpless state.

"Sasuke!" the Jinchuriki shouted at his back.

"Stay back," Sakura heard. "This fight is mine."

"Touching, Sasuke," Itachi said. "The way you two talk is like you never left Konoha. But I must get going now." He began to form a hand sign to disappear.

"I won't let you!" Sasuke yelled as he charged forward.

Itachi cast one last glance at Sakura. It was cold, and made her feel like she was a useless piece of equipment to be trashed.

The projection of his body warped, and Itachi began to dematerialize into his signature flock of crows. "Until next time little brother."

Sasuke's hand clashed with nothing but air. "Fuck!" he shouted. He whipped around, eyes glowing red in the night sky like a demon. "You," he said to Sakura hatefully, "give me one reason not to kill you."

Slowly, he drew his sword and pointed it. At her.

She remained defenseless.

"Sasuke—what are you doing? This is Sakura." With one assisting hand still on her throat, the Jinchuriki drew a kunai, prepared to meet Sasuke's sword.

"She let Itachi get away. Move, Naruto."

Where Sakura lay, she was met with shards of glass sticking out from the inside of one of Sasuke's feet. Her fate was tied to whichever one of the two weapons drawn above her succeeded.

"Do you know how crazy you sound? She needs to heal," the Jinchuriki cried.

"Naruto. Move."

Sakura could feel her breathing getting shallow and rapid, but she wasn't sure if it was a physiological reaction to her wound or a psychological reaction to Sasuke finding out her secret.

She was fighting unconsciousness now. Whatever chakra she could muster to heal herself would have to be enough.

"I'm not moving," Jinchuriki said, standing his ground.

Sasuke's words echoed as her world faded to black. _Give me one reason not to kill you._

She had no idea what she was going to say when, or if, she ever woke up.

* * *

**To be continued...**


End file.
